Social Security Question - Age 70 - Birthdate - Income Recalculation (divorce, divorced)

[Bette]

Had a client in my office who was not sure about this and got me to thinking -

We were discussing the nice 5.83 COLA adjustment and then she told me she is 69 soon to be 70 and still working.
She turns 70 in November 2021.

Her earnings have been consistent and she is still working. She wondered when the 2021 earnings go into her calculation.

I was not sure since I just got an e-mail from SSA myself telling me to check the 2020 earnings which were posted (recently).

She knows she can file 3 months prior and up to 3 months after to get it but she wants to get the most she can (obviously).

[mathjak107]

Jan 2022

[1insider]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

Jan 2022

Depends on when you file. I typically file in October and my earnings can take well into the year to be posted by SSA.

[mathjak107]

All colas starting are in January so that answers that question .

Earnings can take just a short period of time to get calculated in , but they only count if they are bumping out lower years in the top inflation adjusted 35.. remember she said earnings are consistent so they may not be bumping out anything

How often does SSA update earnings record?
SSA receives information from employers and the IRS continuously; therefore the MEF is updated on a weekly basis. Each year, SSA processes about 245 million employee wage reports submitted by about 6.9 million employers ( SSA 2009d)

Mef is your master earnings file

[Bette]

She has been working steadily since age 45. She needs every year to bump out a prior year.

She was a SAHM.
Divorced many years. Forget the ex. He never reported hardly anything.

She knows 2021 needs to be in there - the calculator gives a higher number with 2021 in there but she doesn't want to file too early.

[mathjak107]

Well according to the ss site it is updated weekly..you might just not see it appear until every so often

[rjm1cc]

As I recall from the distance past it can take up to two years for the earnings to be posted. Hopefully it is down to one by now.


The W2 your employer sends to the IRS at year end goes to SS to up date the wages. That is why it can take at least a year to update.



I also recall that SS will recalculate your payments for the actual earnings and adjust.


Thus my best guess is that she has no problem with when she retires as SS will correct any payments to what they should have been if all her earnings were know when she retired.

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by rjm1cc

As I recall from the distance past it can take up to two years for the earnings to be posted. Hopefully it is down to one by now.


The W2 your employer sends to the IRS at year end goes to SS to up date the wages. That is why it can take at least a year to update.



I also recall that SS will recalculate your payments for the actual earnings and adjust.


Thus my best guess is that she has no problem with when she retires as SS will correct any payments to what they should have been if all her earnings were know when she retired.

Not according to the ss website ..the master earning file is updated every week ….you are up to date when you file , you just may not see it in your file yet.


How often does SSA update earnings record?
SSA receives information from employers and the IRS continuously; therefore the MEF is updated on a weekly basis. Each year, SSA processes about 245 million employee wage reports submitted by about 6.9 million employers ( SSA 2009d)

Mef is your master earnings file

[GeoffD]

In my life experience, it shows up in the Social Security database a couple of weeks after you efile your taxes and they’re processed. If I owe money and delay filing until April 15th, my earnings show up on the Social Security portal around May 1. If you paper file, I doubt it’s deterministic like that.

[mathjak107]

They may periodically update your statement but the actual file is updated weekly