Jerry,

On February 26th you responded to Frank who had a question about deemed military wages, and stated you had never seen a case in which the deemed wages were not used by the SSA in calculating benefits.

In my case I served in the Navy from 1966 to 1971. If I understand the SSA handbook and literature correctly, for this period $300 is added to any wages earned in any calendar quarter while on active duty or on active duty for training (this is what AnyPIA does).

What is supposed to show up on the "Social Security Statement?" The basic wages? The basic wages and the deemed wages combined? I do not have W-2s any longer, but I have my service record and the rates of military pay are published. When I calculate my earnings they are within a few dollars of the amounts shown in the SSA statements, so I know the amounts in the statements do not reflect the additional deemed wage credits - at least for 1968 and 1969 when I had only military income.

The SSA PDF entitled "Military Service and Social Security" states that for service from 1957 to 1967, "we will add the extra credits to your record when you apply for Social Security benefits." I presume a question is asked when you apply. I was not asked during the interview.

Thanks for the informative web site,

Rick

Hi Rick,

The earnings shown on your Social Security statement should include your deemed military wages starting with 1968, which is when Social Security upgraded their system to automatically include deemed military wages. In order to receive deemed military wages for years prior to 1968 you generally need to submit proof of your service, such as a discharge paper showing your dates of active duty (e.g. DD-214).

There is a question on Social Security disability and retirement applications (https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-1-bk.pdf) that asks the claimant if they had active military service prior to 1968. If you had active duty before 1968 and weren't asked to submit proof of your service when you filed, it's possible that you didn't receive all of your credits. If you think that's the case, you may want to submit proof of your periods of active duty to Social Security and request a benefit re-computation.

Best, Jerry