Social Security Benefits Part 2

Medicare needs to be dealt with here under this tax-bite section because it gets a piece of your paycheck each week also. There is no income limit on the amount you pay into Medicare.

Medicare needs to be dealt with here under this tax-bite section because it gets a piece of your paycheck each week also. There is no income limit on the amount you pay into Medicare. You contribute 1.45 percent, as does your employer; if you're self-employed, you contribute 2.9 percent.

Your benefit is based on your earnings averaged over your working lifetime, your date of birth, and the type of benefit for which you are applying. You want to be sure you have been credited for all or your earnings. The key here for you is to keep good employment records.

Hang on to those W-2s you receive from your employer. That W-2 may be the only proof you have of employment. The Social Security Administration records your earnings information on an annual basis. It receives the information from your employer in order to credit your account. If your name or number is incorrect, someone else may be credited with your earnings.

Employers only have to keep employment records for four years, but the larger corporations keep them much longer. It is your responsibility to keep track of your Social Security earnings. When you receive your Social Security statement, check it against your old W-2s for any errors. If there are errors, correct them as soon as possible with the SSA. It is important to note that, as long as proof of earnings is presented, the SSA will make the correction, no matter how far in the past the error occurred. Errors may occur more often on women, because women are in and out of the job market, and may change names more than once during working careers. These opportunities are all ripe for errors.