Since August 08, 1988, Social Security Administration (SSA) has provided Statements of recorded earnings and estimates of Social Security benefits to Social Security number (SSN) holders who request this information. Section 1143 of the Social Security Act, as amended, requires SSA to provide such Statements automatically, without request, to all SSN holders age 25 and older who are not yet in benefit status and for whom we can determine a current mailing address. Automatic mailings began in October 1999, with updated Statements issued annually after that. Currently, all workers age 60 and older who do not have a my Social Security account and do not receive Social Security benefits are mailed an automatic Statement three months before their birthday. Any worker can access their Statement online by logging into my Social Security. A Statement can be mailed to workers upon request. Workers can fill out and mail in a Form SSA-7004 to request that a paper Statement be mailed to them. SSA began phasing in this issuance program in February 1995 using the Personal Earnings and Benefits Statements (PEBES). We started by distributing one-time PEBES to eligible individuals age 60 and older. The mailings continued through March 1999 to increasingly younger groups of SSN holders. Almost 75 million people age 40 and older received their first Statements during these 5 years. On October 1, 1999, we expanded the program to provide a PEBES to more than 135 million eligible individuals, as defined in the legislation. These mailings continued and reached 144,882,820 in FY 2006. In preparation for the expanded program, we enhanced the PEBES processing system to enable us to handle the increased volume of issuances more efficiently. We also redesigned the old PEBES document to make it shorter, easier to read and simpler to understand. We renamed the form the Social Security Statement ( Statement ). In 2006, SSA implemented changes to the Statement as a result of §419 of the Social Security Protection Act (SSPA). These changes included the addition of the Windfall Elimination Program (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) paragraphs included within the Statement as well as the new one-page Statement From Social Security sent to those individuals with only non-covered earnings posted to their record. In 2010, people receiving Medicare benefits but not monthly Social Security benefits began receiving Statements . In 2011, Social Security suspended mailings due to budgetary constraints. In 2012, the agency resumed automatically mailing Statements to people age 60 and older who don’t receive benefits, don't have a claim pending, and don't have a my Social Security account. In 2011, Social Security launched an online Statement , allowing workers to access their Statement anytime and as often as they like using a secure my Social Security account. An increasing number of workers prefer to access their Statement in this way. In 2022, Social Security launched a redesigned version of the Statement that replaced previous versions. The redesigned Statement includes targeted, supplemental fact sheets with additional information pertaining to readers based on their age groups and earnings situations.
NOTE: Automatic issuance of the Statement and online access to the Statement do not affect SSN holders’ right to request a Statement at any time. Individuals may still request Statements by completing and mailing a Form SSA-7004-SM-OP1, Request for Social Security Statement (see RM 01301.014).
The remainder of this subchapter describes the policies and processes we use to send out the automatic Social Security Statements . The redesigned Statement is described in detail in subchapter RM 01310.000. An exhibit of the form is located in RM 01310.010B.
The Social Security Statement (Form SSA-7005-SM-OR, SSA-7005-SM-OL, SSA-7005-SM-SI, or Form SSA-7005-SM-OR) is the form used to provide people who have worked under the Social Security program with information regarding their reported earnings, estimates of the tax contributions they and their employers have paid, and the potential benefits that they and their families may qualify for based on those earnings. The Statements may be issued automatically or on request. Section 1143 of the Social Security Act specifies the personal information that SSA must include on the form.
The Social Security Statement has no approved acronym. Although the term “PEBES” continues to be used internally by some within SSA, we should call the form the Social Security Statement or simply “the Statement ” when discussing it with the public.
This is the online version (OL) of the Social Security Statement (Form SSA-7005-SM-OL version). SSA provides it behind my Social Security to all eligible workers with an account. With more people preferring to do business online, and budget restrictions not allowing SSA to mail to all eligible workers, this is the way an increasing number of people receive their Statement . They can check as often as they like, but are sent an email three months before their birthday to log-in to their my Social Security account and check their Statement .
SSA provides the Social Security Statement (Form SSA-7005-SM-SI version) automatically to specified eligible individuals defined in section 1143 of the Act. This version of the Statement is mailed automatically (systems initiated, or SI) to selected SSN holders age 60 and older, who have not registered for a my Social Security account and who are not receiving benefits.
This version of the Social Security Statement (Form SSA-7005-SM-OR) is sent in response to an SSN holder’s request (on request, or OR). Requester’s may mail SSA a completed paper Form SSA-7004-SM, Request for a Social Security Statement (see RM 01301.014). The on-request Statement is highlighted in blue.
The major difference between automatically issued and on-request versions of the Statement is how we use not-yet-posted current and future earnings to determine credits and calculate benefit estimates. For example, a worker can provide different estimates for future earnings and retirement dates on an on-request Statement. We explain these factors in RM 01310.005.
This version is a one-page Statement sent automatically to those SSN holders who have only non-covered earnings. It contains information about the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset (WEP/GPO).
This version is a one-page Statement sent in response to a request to individuals who have only non-covered earnings. It contains information about WEP and GPO.
This version is a one-page Statement provided online in my Social Security to individuals who have only non-covered earnings. It contains information about WEP and GPO.
Section 1143 of the Act (see RM 01305.001A) defines “eligible individuals”as persons age 25 and older who have an SSN and wages or net earnings from self-employment posted to their earnings record. It further describes them as persons who are not yet receiving Title II Social Security benefits and for whom the Commissioner of Social Security can determine a current mailing address. (See RM 01305.005B for the selection process.) We make Statements available to all eligible individuals behind my Social Security and mail them automatically to people age 60 and older, who have not registered for a my Social Security account and who are not receiving benefits and do not have an application for benefits pending.
The PEBES system is the processing system that prepares the personal information for the Social Security Statement . It uses information from the Master Earnings File (MEF) together with information supplied by the requester or by the front-end selection process for automatic Statements to prepare the display of year-by-year earnings and to calculate earnings, credits and benefit estimates. We provide output from the PEBES system to the Customer Communications Management (CCM) platform and then to the commercial contractor who prints and mails automatic Statements . On request Statements are printed and mailed by the SSA Print/Mail Facility (PMF). The Statement API is a modern system that uses information from our back-end systems to generate the online Statement PDF through CCM.
PEBES ONLINE is the query system that FO and TSC personnel can use to view benefit estimates. PEBES Online displays three benefit estimates while the Statement displays nine.
The Statement History File is an electronic file that contains pertinent processing information such as when the last on request (OR) and systems initiated (SI) Statement was issued for each SSN holder, the language it was in, or whether manual processing actions are currently in progress. The File can be queried online. (See RM 01305.020).
The MBR is SSA’s Master Beneficiary Record, the database that lists those persons who have filed claims for Social Security benefits.
WMS (Workload Management System) provides information about Title II benefit claims currently in process.