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The average monthly retirement benefit is about $1,503 (in 2020), but the amounts vary. Higher-paid workers who start benefits at full retirement age and have paid the maximum taxable amounts for their entire careers receive about twice that amount ($3,011). If you wait beyond full retirement age, you can get a lot more.

So, what’s your number? If there were a quick and easy way to do the math yourself, I’d tell you right here. But there isn’t. Fortunately, Social Security makes it easy to get a ballpark estimate by using one of its online tools: the Social Security Quick Calculator (www.ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc) or the Retirement Estimator (www.ssa.gov/estimator). See Chapter 6 for more discussion about Social Security calculators, including a helpful tool from AARP.

Make sure that your employer’s records match up with Social Security. Every year your employer sends a copy of your W-2 to Social Security, which relies on the name and number on that form to put credits on your earnings record. That record determines whether you qualify for benefits and how much you’ll get. If your employer and Social Security are using different names or numbers, it could cost you money, so it’s smart to pay attention. It’s also your responsibility to correct mistakes. If you’re incorrectly identified on your work records or if your income is reported incorrectly, let your employer know. You can contact the SSA (see Chapter 1) to correct an error in the name on your Social Security card.

If you’re self-employed, you have 3 years, 3 months, and 15 days from the end of the year in which you earned money to correct errors that may turn up on your earnings record. Otherwise, earnings records can be corrected at any time, if satisfactory evidence of wages can be found. If you don’t bring errors to the attention of the SSA within that time, it may not fix them.

Your employer is the one who points out W-2 errors to the SSA. If your employer refuses, you should bring the matter to the attention of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You can contact the IRS at 800-829-1040.