Dear Rusty:  I began collecting benefits at age 72 and am now 78. Since that time, I have continued to work and have contributed over $40,000 to Social Security over the last six years. At the time of my retirement, I was informed that the Social Security Administration (SSA) would review my contributions annually and replace lower-earning years from my 35-year record with my current higher-earning years. 
 
Despite my current annual income exceeding $100,000, I have not seen an increase in my benefit amount over the past six years. I recently met with an SSA representative who confirmed that my benefits are being reviewed annually but did not provide specific details or evidence of these adjustments. Could you please advise me on how to formally verify that my benefits are being accurately reviewed and updated to reflect my continued contributions? Signed: Collecting and Still Working  
 
Dear Collecting:  For information, your contributions (from FICA payroll taxes) to Social Security over the last 6 years are not what determines if you get an increase to your monthly SS benefit. Although you contributed to SS since you started receiving SS benefits, those contributions do not affect your monthly SS benefit. Your monthly SS benefit is based only the highest inflation-adjusted 35 years of earnings over your lifetime. And for your monthly benefit to change, your current earnings each year would need to replace at least one of those 35 historical, inflation-adjusted year earnings. 

 
We regularly hear from those who do benefit from SSA’s regular review of work earnings after they start receiving monthly SS benefits, and our Advisory staff includes two individuals with a combined 70 years of service with the Social Security Administration. Thus, we are comfortable saying that SSA does, in fact, review your earnings annually to see if your monthly SS payment should be higher. From a process standpoint, SSA receives your annual earnings information from the IRS (i.e., directly from your annual tax return) by mid-year annually, after which SSA evaluates your recent earnings to see if an increase in your monthly SS benefit is warranted. If so, that increase is automatically applied (usually around October each year), and you are paid the extra amount retroactively to the beginning of the year. 
 
What you may not realize is that your lifetime earnings (your historical earnings) are adjusted for inflation. This is a good thing, because that means your current monthly SS benefit is calculated using today’s dollar values for your past earnings, rather than the actual money amounts you originally earned and received. For example, $50,000 of 1990 earnings would be worth about $125,000 today.  Which also means that those 1990 earnings would only yield a higher current Social Security benefit if your recent earnings were more than $125,000. And this is true for all 35 years of lifetime earnings used to calculate your current monthly Social Security benefit. 
 
The best way for you to ensure that you are getting the right monthly benefit amount is to first obtain your lifetime earnings history from Social Security. This is most easily obtained through your online “my Social Security” account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.  If you don’t have an online account set up, you can also request an “Earnings Statement” by calling Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 (or call your local SS field office to request it). Next, I suggest you use Social Security’s “Online Benefits Calculator” explained and available at ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/AnypiaApplet.html

If, after this, you believe you should be getting a higher monthly SS benefit because of your recent earnings, you can again contact SSA and tell them you believe they did not properly adjust your current SS benefit for your most recent earnings. Following that, you can submit a “Request for Reconsideration” (form SSA-561) which will result in a full separate review of your case by an independent SSA person, followed (some months later) by a formal written determination on your assertion. If you received a letter from SSA because of your previous meeting with them, include a copy of that letter with your “Request for Reconsideration.”  
 
This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.