In organizing our important documents, this Social Security correspondence post concludes the first category of File Box 3. 🙂

Along with our annual statement(s), identification card(s), photocopy of identification card(s), and photocopies of all checks paying self-insurance tax, the last set of documents is all Social Security correspondence.

Social Security Correspondence

When you enroll for benefits (disability, retirement, etc.), file a claim, make changes to your record, or contact the Administration, keep a record of your correspondence.

Though I have not needed these benefits for my family, I know more than a few families who receive Social Security checks.

Keeping pay stubs and correspondence noting benefit amounts will save you time and energy at tax time.

Weekly Project: File all Social Security correspondence.

If you have not contacted the Administration, then your file is complete. In filing all our Social Security documents, we need to celebrate. Enjoy the accomplishment of using time wisely.

If you are still working on organizing these documents, then don’t give up. Your efforts are not in vain. Go at your own pace, but keep moving forward. Happy organizing!

Question: What additional Social Security documents would you add to this category?

With a busy schedule, I understand how your document organization gets shoved to the side. I get it!

With homework, laundry, meals, soccer, dishes, and family activities, you need a little reprieve. Take heart, this week’s project will only take about 5 minutes. 😉

Working within File Box 3 in the first category of Social Security documents, we have filed our annual statement for each family member and our identification card for each family member.

If you are still waiting on these documents or are correcting, then work where you are.

Photocopy Your Identification Card

When you get your identification card, I recommend keeping 2-3 copies of each card in your file box or notebook. You will need to give a copy of your Social Security card to your employer to accurately report your earnings on your W-2 Wage and Tax Statement.

Weekly Project: Make a copy of each family member’s Social Security Identification Card.

Protect Your Identification Card

Tracy’s Soap Box: This topic of identity theft is near and dear to me. 

Stepping up on my box, I want to help you. Your Social Security number is your private number. In the wrong hands, you will spend more time than you can imagine getting your identity cleared.

When asked for your Social Security number, challenge the reason for the information.

I do not give my number to my doctor’s offices. Yes, they like to use that information for identification, but I do not give the entire number. They may use the last 4 digits or a phone number or a date of birth.

There is one exception –  when the insurance company uses your Social Security number rather than an insurance identification number to file claims.

If the party requesting my Social Security number gives a good reason for needing it, then I make the decision to give or not give it. However, if the reason is only for identification, then I request another form of identification because they don’t need my Social Security number.

You may think this is extreme, but the documentation sent with your Social Security identification card states:

Some private organizations use Social Security numbers for record keeping purposes. Such use is neither required nor prohibited by Federal law. The use of your Social Security number by such an organization for its own records is a private matter between you and the organization. Private organizations cannot get information from your Social Security record just because they know your number.

Any Federal, State, or local government agency that asks for your number must tell you: whether giving it is mandatory or voluntary, its authority for requesting the number, and how the number will be used.

If the government has regulations as to how they use my number, then I hold the private sector responsible as well. When I fill out the documentation at the doctor’s office and hand the clipboard back to the receptionist, she may leave that document on her desk while she takes a break.

Though she cannot get information from my Social Security record, she may allow another patient visual access to my Social Security number. This is the problem I have with using my number for identification.

Lest you think this doesn’t happen, I was given a clipboard of documents as a new patient. In filling out the pages, I found someone else’s forms under my paperwork listing their medical, personal, and insurance information. Yeah! I gave the documents back right away with a comment expressing my concern regarding their privacy practices.

If you choose to use your Social Security number in the private sector for record keeping, then take heed to protect access to your private number – stepping down from my box. 😉

In using time wisely, protect your identity by keeping your Social Security Card in your filing system with a couple photocopies for those who need access to your number and benefits.

In organizing your important documents, we are over two-thirds complete. Happy organizing!

Question: What do you think about private organizations using your Social Security number for identification?

Working within File Box 3 and the first category of Social Security Documents, I have our social security annual statement, reviewed it, and corrected it.

If you are still in the correcting phase, then keep going. You are using time wisely staying proactive. 🙂

Social Security Identification Card

In addition to our annual statements, Paul and I have our Social Security identification cards along with each of our children’s cards within this first file opening.

If you have misplaced yours, the Social Security Administration indicates:

You can replace your Social Security card for free if it is lost or stolen. However, you may not need to get a replacement card. Knowing your Social Security number is what is important.

Though I understand their point, I want my file complete, so I replaced Paul’s when I could not find his original. Of course, after I had him request a replacement, we found the original. Now, we have two cards for Paul in our file. 😉

With the Social Security Administration posting instructions online, one can get, replace, or change an identification card by following the sequence:

1. Go to the Social Security Administration website.

2. Make the following 3 selections:

• Adult or child

• Original, replacement, or corrected

NOTE: Per the Social Security Administration website, You are limited to three replacement cards in a year and 10 during your lifetime. Legal name changes and other exceptions do not count toward these limits.  

• U.S.-born citizen, foreign-born U.S. citizen, or non-citizen

3. Follow the 3-step process

• Step One: Gather your original documents (If following my system, you have them in Box 1, personal documents)

• Step Two: Fill out and print the Social Security form

• Step Three: Take or mail the documents to the Social Security Administration

Tracy’s Tip: I am really funny about giving up my original documents. For me, I would take them to my local Social Security Administration’s office.

However, in using time wisely, you might consider mailing them. Just send the documents registered mail to get verification of receipt.

Also, do not mail them from your home. Protect your documents by mailing them at the post office or placed in a blue U.S. Postal Service mailbox. You don’t want your personal documents getting into the wrong hands.

As you organize your important documents, schedule the time to get, replace, or correct your Social Security identification card.

Weekly Project: Find and file your Social Security identification card.

The time to get it is before you need it. In using time wisely, locate your card or request one to place in your file. Happy organizing!

Question: Do you carry your Social Security card in your wallet? 

With your Social Security Annual Statement obtained and reviewed, you may find some inaccuracies.

Though I only had about 10 years of work experience when I first reviewed my statement, I found incorrect information.

Armed with documentation to prove the validity of my challenge, I took these steps to correct my Social Security Annual Statement.

Correcting my Social Security Annual Statement

Upon reviewing my Social Security annual statement, I found two amounts on Page 3 that failed to record my full Taxed Social Security Earnings from Box 1 on my W-2 statements. Armed with my Social Security card, my annual statement, and W-2 Wage and Tax Statements, I went to my local Social Security office.

When I arrived, I waited in a short line before seeing a representative at the counter. Upon showing the clerk the discrepancies, she took my forms to a back office. She then came back with my documents and said I would see the changes on my next annual statement.

Though I really wanted verification, which she could not provide, I left the office. The next year, I received a corrected Social Security Annual Statement.

During my interaction, the Social Security office did not accept phone calls, so I had to visit the office. Also, the information was not computerized, so copies were taken of my documentation and sent to headquarters for processing. Hopefully, the process for you will prove easier.

Correcting your Social Security Annual Statement

When you find a discrepancy on your annual statement, the Social Security Administration invites you to contact them via telephone or mail:

Call us right away at 1-800-772-1213 (7 a.m.–7 p.m. your local time) if any earnings for years before last year are shown incorrectly. Please have your W-2 or tax return for those years available.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you may call our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

If you have questions about your personal information, you must provide your complete Social Security number.

If you are in the United States, you also may write to the Social Security Administration, Office of Earnings Operations, P.O. Box 33026, Baltimore, MD 21290-3026.

If you are outside the United States, please write to the Office of International Operations, P.O. Box 17769, Baltimore, MD 21235-7769, USA.

In using time wisely to correct your Social Security Annual Statement press on. Gather your documents, make the call, and proceed until your annual statement is accurate. Keep plugging along. Once completed, review your statement annually.

Hang in there! Your future benefits depend on you using time wisely now. Working along with you!

Question: Do you keep all your W-2 forms from your first job to the present?

As I pulled out a Social Security Annual Statement to write this post, I looked at the date. Yikes!

I have Paul’s 2011 statement but not this year’s statement. I checked the date on my record and found 2010’s statement but missing 2011 and 2012.

Guess I did not complete last week’s project. Oops! I’ll have to get on that this week. 😉

If you completed last week’s project, then you are ready to review your Social Security Annual Statement for accuracy.

Reviewing Your Annual Statement

Though your statement consists of 4 pages, only pages 1 through 3 contain information you can verify. The last page offers facts and extra help getting information. To review your annual statement, check the following information for accuracy:

Page 1

1. Your name listed after “Prepared especially for”

2. Your name and address under the bar code

Page 2

1. Your date of birth – the third line from the bottom of the first section

2. Your social security number or the last 4 digits

Page 3

Match your W-2 Wage and Tax Statements for each year with the listed amount under Your Earnings Record. You should find Your Taxed Social Security Earnings in Box 1 and Your Taxed Medicare Earnings in Box 3 of your W-2 form.

If you find discrepancies between your records and the numbers listed on your Social Security Annual Statement, then note those differences and set aside your documentation.

Weekly Project: Review your Social Security Annual Statement.

Though this step is time-consuming, you are the only one who can verify this information. If you cannot find your W-2 forms, work with what you have. Keep searching for those tax records because your Social Security Annual Statement determines your future benefits.

In using time wisely, review your annual statement and note all incorrect information. Next week, I will share the process I undertook to correct the discrepancies in my record. Keep organizing. I’m working along with you updating and verifying our information. Happy reviewing!

Question: How do you like the weekly project?