The end of a year is always an exciting time to reflect on the milestones you achieved. It's also a smart time to take stock of your finances and check a few essential money management tasks off your to-do list.
One of those money management tasks has to do with your Social Security benefits. It's a task that current workers actually should prioritize completing before the end of 2025 because if they don't, they could be left facing regrets.
So what's the task you should take care of? Here's what you need to do before 2026 arrives.
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Make sure to do this task before the end of 2025
Before the end of the year, the key Social Security task that every worker needs to complete involves checking their Social Security earnings record.
Your earnings record is a record of the income that you have earned and paid Social Security tax on. This record accounts for all of the money that you have earned over the course of the year that was reported to the Social Security Administration during your entire career.
You can sign into your mySocialSecurity account to take a look at your record and see what was reported to the SSA for the most recently available year of earnings. And you should do this before the end of 2025, as well as in each year going forward.
Once you have signed in, you will see your earnings statement and will have the option to view it, download it, or print it.
You'll also see a projection of how much your Social Security benefits will be at the age of 62, at your full retirement age, and at the age of 70, as well as projections of what your disability or survivor benefits could look like.
Why is it critical to check your Social Security statement each year?
You should take care of this task in 2025 as well as in subsequent years because your earnings record contains very important information that is critical to your retirement planning.
The first big reason to check your earnings record before the year is over is that you can contact the Social Security Administration to correct the record if necessary. If there is a mistake in your reported earnings, that could affect your future Social Security payment since your benefits are calculated by using the information from your earnings record to determine your average wage over 35 years.
While you could try to correct your earnings record many years into the future if you notice that a mistake has been made, you may not remember exactly what you earned each year. You might not even realize there was an error if you aren't checking the account regularly. After all, do you remember how much you made 10 years ago? Or 15?
What's more, you may no longer have access to the kinds of documentation that you might need to get the issue corrected, such as your W-2 forms or tax returns.
You can more easily spot and fix errors if you are regularly looking at your Social Security statement. This simple five-minute task will ensure you get all the benefits you are entitled to, so you don't have to withdraw more than necessary from your 401(k) or IRA. Maximizing Social Security is key to making the money in your retirement plans last, so you don't want to leave benefits on the table because of a mix-up with your earnings history.
It is also helpful to check your earnings record each year so you can get a clear idea of what Social Security can do for you. You may end up being surprised at how little income Social Security actually replaces, since it is only designed to replace 40% of pre-retirement income.
Understanding the truth about what your benefits will look like, including at different claiming ages, can help you to decide how much to invest in a 401(k) or IRA so you're ready for retirement.
For these two reasons, you should check your Social Security statement before the end of 2025. Doing so could give you more security in your later years, so it is well worth the effort.
