10 Things That Can Hurt Your Social Security Payments

Failing to catch incorrect wage information

Social Security benefits are based on your lifetime earnings record. If the government doesn’t have the correct wage information for you, the result could be a smaller Social Security check.

To make sure the government has the right info on your wages, sign up for a My Social Security account. As we have noted before:

“Among other things, you can use your mySocialSecurity account to:

• Receive personalized estimates of future benefits.
• View your latest Social Security statement.
• Review your earnings history.
• Set up or change the direct deposit details for your benefit payments.
• Request a replacement card if you’ve lost yours.”