I am 77 years old and waited until 70 to file for SS benefits. I recently signed up for a my social security account, and noticed that its missing 6 years of earnings. I can't seem to correct this on line and I haven't been able to get through on the phone (after waiting an hour or more for them to answer the call hangs up. I have had this happen several times). Any help?

Hi,

If your earnings history is missing earnings on which you paid Social Security taxes, about the only way to get the earnings posted to your account would be to submit proof of the earnings to Social Security along with a request for correction. The best evidence of wages would be a copy of your W-2 forms. If the missing earnings are self-employment earnings, you'll need to submit copies from your tax returns along with proof that you paid the appropriate self-employment taxes (e.g. cancelled checks, bank records).

You could submit such documentation by mail, but taking the records to your nearest Social Security office would be preferable. If you don't have proof of the missing earnings then it probably won't be possible to get them posted to your record. There is a small possibility that Social Security could find proof of missing earnings without you submitting any evidence, but about the only way that could happen is if your wages were reported under an incorrect Social Security number and they show up in Social Security's earnings database.

Best, Jerry