One missing earnings year can shrink your Social Security
Plus a new IRS break that can erase a $1,000 penalty and the money request that exposes a romance scam.
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One missing year in your earnings record can quietly shrink every Social Security check that follows. August is when Social Security itself says to check last year’s number, so this is the five-minute review I’d put first today. I also found a new IRS penalty break and one clean way to expose an online romance scam.
Your $2,071 Social Security check starts with the earnings record
The average retired-worker benefit is about $2,071 a month in 2026, but your own amount is built from the earnings Social Security has recorded under your name (SSA). If a year is missing or wrong, your retirement check—and benefits your family may later claim—can be lower (SSA correction guide).
There is a timely reason to look now. Social Security’s current correction guide says earnings from the current or prior year can take time to appear, then specifically recommends checking in August to make sure last year’s amount is right (SSA). Compare the 2025 line with your W-2 or tax return; earnings above that year’s taxable ceiling of $176,100 will not appear.
If an older year is wrong, do not assume it is too late to fix. Gather a W-2, tax return, pay stub, or other proof and contact Social Security. My take: correct the record while the paperwork and employer details are still easy to find.
→ Your move: Sign in by typing ssa.gov/myaccount yourself. Open your earnings record, compare 2025 line by line, and save a copy. If something is missing, use SSA’s correction guide or call 1-800-772-1213 with your proof ready.
The one number: a $1,000 IRS penalty that may disappear
On a $4,000 unpaid tax balance, the late-filing penalty can reach $1,000. The IRS is rolling out automatic penalty relief this summer for people with a solid three-year history of filing and paying on time. It begins with eligible original 2025 returns and 2026 quarterly returns (IRS announcement; penalty rates).
If you qualify, the IRS says you do not apply; it will withhold the covered penalty and send a notice. You still owe the tax and interest. During the rollout, some eligible people may still get a penalty bill.
→ Your move: Do not ignore—or automatically pay—a new late-filing or late-payment penalty. Check your prior three years, then call the number printed on the notice and ask the IRS to review you for First Time Abate during the transition.
Scam of the week: the online romance that cost $8 million
Federal prosecutors say an alleged romance-fraud network took more than $8 million from over 80 older victims. The July case describes fake dating and social profiles, AI-driven video, and stories about gold or diamond inheritances that ended in wire requests (Justice Department).
| The one tell: someone you know only online or by phone asks you to send, receive, invest, or move money. The relationship may feel real; the money request is the stop sign. |
→ Do this: Send nothing and stop contact. If money moved, call your bank’s fraud department immediately, save the messages and payment details, and report the account at IC3.gov. The FBI’s rule is blunt: never send money to someone you have met only online or by phone (FBI).
Your turn: Have you ever found a mistake in an earnings record, pension statement, or tax notice? Hit reply and tell me what fixed it.
Forward this to someone who worked multiple jobs or changed names during their career.
Talk soon,
— Ellen Marsh, Editor, Retirement Shield
Retirement Shield is educational information only — not financial, tax, or legal advice. We will never ask you for an account number, Social Security number, password, or payment.