REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
How did you verify?
Veterans and Social Security
- Thread starter Gumby
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Visited the local SS office.
shotgunner
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I found a copy of my 1986 tax return and with it my W-2 from 1986. I spent the entire year of 1986 on Active Duty, USAF. My W-2 shows my taxable base pay was $26,892. My most current Social Security statement from Jan '10. Shows in 1986 my taxed Social Security earnings were $26,892.
The automatically added is quite suspect in my mind. There is nothing on my 1986 W-2 indicating I was active duty military vs. a DOD civilian.
The automatically added is quite suspect in my mind. There is nothing on my 1986 W-2 indicating I was active duty military vs. a DOD civilian.
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Guess the only way to be sure is contact the SSA like braumeister did and see if they can verify it for you.
shotgunner
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I just got off the phone with the Social Security Office in Portsmouth NH. They were very helpful. Here is what I gleaned:
Any additional earnings credit for military members is NOT shown on your annual Social Security Statement.
Projected earnings do NOT reflect the additional veteran earnings credits.
You NEED to be sure to let them know you were on active duty to be sure any additional income credit is used to compute your social security benefit payment.
You should bring a copy of your DD214 with you when you apply.
The automatic part of this happens after you apply and they CONFIRM you were on active duty.
Any additional earnings credit for military members is NOT shown on your annual Social Security Statement.
Projected earnings do NOT reflect the additional veteran earnings credits.
You NEED to be sure to let them know you were on active duty to be sure any additional income credit is used to compute your social security benefit payment.
You should bring a copy of your DD214 with you when you apply.
The automatic part of this happens after you apply and they CONFIRM you were on active duty.
That's good to know. Sounds like the SS has as much consistency between representatives as the IRS does!
shotgunner
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Just for fun I added up my Social Security earnings from my most recent statement. If I add $1200 a year for the 7 years of service it increases my overall lifetime earnings by .008. If one extrapolates this to mean a .008 increase in my SS benefit estimate we are taking about an extra $11 a month at age 62. Already spent more time on today than it was worth 
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Just for fun I added up my Social Security earnings from my most recent statement. If I add $1200 a year for the 7 years of service it increases my overall lifetime earnings by .008. If one extrapolates this to mean a .008 increase in my SS benefit estimate we are taking about an extra $11 a month at age 62. Already spent more time on today than it was worth
Yep. Unless you were a very low earner, that additional $1200 per year isn't going to make much difference to the average vet who served 3-4 years.
I did the calculation, too. For me, it's just over a 1% increase in my monthly payment at age 70, which is when I plan to start receiving SS. Enough to buy a nice dinner at my favorite restaurant, so I'm not complaining.
chinaco
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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I still have my original DD214. I can remember being told: Make sure you keep this document... you will need it!
Better that you get to eat that dinner than someone else spending it on a bailout!!! You earned it.
Better that you get to eat that dinner than someone else spending it on a bailout!!! You earned it.
REWahoo
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
Me too...mine is now 32 years old.
rescueme
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
When I was discharged, one of the first things I did was had the DD214 taken to the county recorder (the one who handles wills/deeds) and had it entered.
If it's ever lost or misplaced, my wife knows a copy is held there if it is ever needed in the future.
In our area, this service is done for no charge for any discharged vet...
OP
OP
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Thanks for checking and reporting back to us.
Believe it or not, this may not be a good idea.
By having it recorded this way, it becomes a public record. In most places, anyone can go there and freely read it. Since it contains your social security number, it might put you at increased risk of identity theft.
Not saying it's likely, but certainly something to consider. I've heard of many people who realized this potential problem and had to really jump through some bureaucratic hoops to have it removed (un-recorded).
rescueme
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I was in back in the "old days" where a military ID was issued - no SS on the form.
Heck, I'll even give you part of it: "AFnnnnnnnn" (you can fill in the numbers
)...
Rustic23
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
In Texas, the 214 is not a public record, also it can be registered for free, and unlimited copies for free.
"Under Texas State law, Local Government Code Sec. 0192.002, the County Clerk in each County is required to record, free of charge, the official discharge of each veteran who served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. This free service is very important as it provides veterans with a ready source from which they can obtain a certified copy of their discharge whenever it is needed."
A little clarification on public record.
"The State of Texas has corrected this situation by passing bill HB No. 545 that goes into effect on September 1, 2003. This bill requires county clerks to make all DD 214s registered after September 1. 2003. confidential for 75 years."
"Under Texas State law, Local Government Code Sec. 0192.002, the County Clerk in each County is required to record, free of charge, the official discharge of each veteran who served in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. This free service is very important as it provides veterans with a ready source from which they can obtain a certified copy of their discharge whenever it is needed."
A little clarification on public record.
"The State of Texas has corrected this situation by passing bill HB No. 545 that goes into effect on September 1, 2003. This bill requires county clerks to make all DD 214s registered after September 1. 2003. confidential for 75 years."
Rustic23
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Just got off the phone with SS agent. Short answer, the estimate that the SS site gave me was spot on what she quoted. She said the computer showed the military adjustment was in the calculations.
Now here is another catch for those waiting to take SS. This year there was no increase in Medicare payment if it came out of your SS check. (about $95) but if you were delaying SS and did not have a check to take it out of it went up to about $110. When you start SS, it does not revert! It stays at $110!
Now here is another catch for those waiting to take SS. This year there was no increase in Medicare payment if it came out of your SS check. (about $95) but if you were delaying SS and did not have a check to take it out of it went up to about $110. When you start SS, it does not revert! It stays at $110!
rescueme
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I'm delaying SS till age 70 (about 7.5 years from now). Can I quote you if it goes higher than $110 at that time?
shotgunner
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Well yesterday my nearest SS office could not give me an estimate to include military adjusttment. A W-2 from 1986 compared to my 2010 Social Security Statement shows no adjustment for military service. The SS computer did show I had military service for the years I was in. They confirmed my earnings and payment estimates do not reflect my military service.
How do your tax records compare with your SS statement? Given there has been differing information from different SS offices I am not taking their word for it that it will be automatic. My suspicion is there are a lot of veterans out there who are being short changed. I do not believe in government efficiency.
I certainly agree that there seems to be a lack of consistency in what we hear from various SS bureaucrats.
Shotgunner, does the benefit estimate you work up on their website agree with the estimate they send you in the mail each year?
I see enough of a disagreement in mine to account for the difference, and that is backed up by what I was told at the local office.
My guess is that the website calculator does not give the military service correction, but the annual estimate they send you includes it.
That would seem to make both stories correct. The "automatically included" (as I was told here) story, and the "not accounted for until you apply" story that you were told.
Shotgunner, does the benefit estimate you work up on their website agree with the estimate they send you in the mail each year?
I see enough of a disagreement in mine to account for the difference, and that is backed up by what I was told at the local office.
My guess is that the website calculator does not give the military service correction, but the annual estimate they send you includes it.
That would seem to make both stories correct. The "automatically included" (as I was told here) story, and the "not accounted for until you apply" story that you were told.
shotgunner
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I have not used the calculator on their website so I have not compared my annual mailed estimate with it. I guess I will try it when I have some time. It seems to me SS could make this much more clear by putting a statement on a veteran's mailed estimate that additional earnings credit has been applied to calculate estimated payments OR show the adjustments to earnings for each year of military service. It makes no sense to me they don't verify this additional benefit in some manner.
rescueme
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Here's the one I use; it uses your actual SS record:
Benefits Calculators: About the Social Security Retirement Estimator
I retired at age 59, so I did not have earnings till age 62 to plug in the prior year's (since they update the records later in the year).
When I compared my age 62 benefit that I received in the mail last October and ran the report in January (my 62nd birthday) it matched the age 62 benefit exactly to the dollar. I put "0" dollars in the field for prior year's earnings, which actually was my situation.
Since January, I've run it a couple of times, and now the age 62 rate is being increased a few dollars each month, if I would decide to claim today. Makes sense since it has to advance to my FRA amount at age 66, and then from that age till age 70, when I will claim SS.
So it does seem that it is working and uses the same code as the statement you receive in the mail. Of course, with this thread it seems that I'll get a few extra dollars at age 70, if I live that long (hey, I'm delaying for the benefit of my DW, so it really dosen't matter)...
Rustic23
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Rescume,
Nope, your results may very. It may be that this only happened because there was no increase in Medicare for those collecting SS. It seemed odd to me that on one hand the government is trying to encourage people to take SS later by offering a premium, and at the same time penalizing them because there is no SS check to pay Medicare out of.
Nope, your results may very. It may be that this only happened because there was no increase in Medicare for those collecting SS. It seemed odd to me that on one hand the government is trying to encourage people to take SS later by offering a premium, and at the same time penalizing them because there is no SS check to pay Medicare out of.
The recording of the DD214 at your county court house, was part of the separation seminar the navy gave back in the day. There had been a fire at a records repository sometime during that era, and I guess there was some paranoia. We were lead to believe that our personal copy of our DD214 would be hard to replace, and the only way to insure against it's loss was to record it at the court house.
rescueme
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Lucky, that's not a concern of mine. Since I am claiming spousal benefits against my DW when she takes SS at her FRA age of 66 (we're the same age), I'll just pay it out of there.
Between age 65 (when Medicare starts) and age 66 (when I get SS income compliments of my DW), the contributation to my former company's medical plan will drop greatly, and will more than cover the Part B contribution at that time.
Life is good...
