Effective Dates: 02/10/2012 - Present Previous | Next

TN 11 (12-06)

RM 01301.001 Scope of Chapter

The information in this section is not applicable while mailing of the Social Security Statement is suspended. See information on accessing earnings information using the MySocialSecurity web portal in OA 00205.010.

A. On-Request Social Security Statements

Section 1143 of the Social Security Act, as amended, requires SSA to provide to Social Security Number (SSN) holders, upon their request, statements of certain information from their Social Security records. This information includes the wages and self-employment income reported to the SSN holders’ records, estimates of the tax contributions they and their employers paid, and estimates of the potential benefits for which they and their families may qualify based on those earnings. SSA uses the Social Security Statement, Form SSA-7005-SM (formerly known as the Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement, or PEBES), to provide the required information.

There are four versions of the Statement.

  • •

    SSA-7005-SM-SI, which is issued automatically each year to eligible individuals age 25 and older (see RM 01305.000),

  • •

    SSA-7005-SM-OR, which is sent to SSN holders at their request,

  • •

    SSA-L7005-SM-SI, which is a one-page letter issued automatically each year to eligible individuals age 25 and older who have only non-covered earnings, and

  • •

    SSA-L7005-SM-OR, which is a one-page letter sent to SSN holders who request a Statement and have only non-covered earnings.

This subchapter discusses requests for Statements.

Use this subchapter to process requests received by mail on Form SSA-7004-SM-OP1, Request for Social Security Statement, or in the form of correspondence that contains all required information for identifying the requester's record.

NOTE: SSN holders also may submit requests for Social Security Statements through the electronic version of the request form that is located on SSA’s Internet web site (www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement ). These requests do not go to FOs or WBDOC for processing; they go directly to the National Computer Center in Baltimore for processing through the system.

B. Kinds of earnings requests not covered

This subchapter does not cover:

  • •

    disagreements with earnings information previously furnished (see RM 03800.000);

  • •

    direct or indirect indication of earnings discrepancies or scrambled wages (see RM 03800.000);

  • •

    requests for detailed earnings information such as quarterly earnings, annual totals, employer names and addresses, etc. (see GN 03320.005 and RM 01455.010);

  • •

    requests from private pension funds (see GN 03305.025), and

  • •

    third-party requests for information from someone else’s Social Security record (see GN 03340.001D).

C. Policy

1. General

An SSN holder may request a Social Security Statement at any time. The earnings and benefit estimate information on the Statement is intended to help SSN holders who are not yet receiving Social Security benefits ensure that their records are correct and aid them in planning their financial futures. If a person requests a Statement, they provide information about expected future earnings, and the age they plan to stop work. Because of this, SSA will not send them an SSA Initiated (SI) Statement if their regular processing time (three months before their month of birth) occurs within the next eleven months.

2. Third-Party requests

Persons other than the SSN holder may sometimes request earnings and benefit estimate information on a given SSN. Such third-party requesters are usually legal representatives who need information about the SSN holder’s employment history to settle an estate or survivors who want an estimate of potential benefits on the record. The Social Security Statement can not be used to respond to such requests. The system will not produce a Statement for a deceased person. A Form SSA-7014-D, will be sent to the requester instead of a Statement (see RM 01301.044).

NOTE: See section RM 01301.014B.4. regarding situations in which SSN holders themselves request the Statement, but ask us to send it to a third party.

3. When we will not provide an on-request statement

In these situations, we will send the requester a Form SSA-7014-A,B,D,E or G instead of a Social Security Statement (see RM 01301.040.).

We will not send a Social Security Statement to requesters who:

  • •

    have provided an incorrect Social Security Number (SSN) or incorrect identifying information on the incoming request (7014-A),

  • •

    have a death indicator on their Numident, MBR or MEF record (7014-D),

  • •

    have no earnings posted to the record—covered or non-covered (7014-B),;

    (See RM 01301.001 and RM 01310.005 regarding the issuance of an SSA-L7005-SM or -OR if the requester has only non-covered earnings),

  • •

    have a pending claim for benefits (7014-E),

  • •

    have a condition on their record which causes a Title II processing limitation which prevents preparation of a Statement without updated information from the SSN holder and/or MBR corrections (7014-G).

4. Access and disclosure

Disclosure and access requirements are described in subchapters GN 03305.000 and GN 03340.000.

D. Definitions

1. The Social Security Statement, Form SSA-7005-SM

The Social Security Statement (formerly called the Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement, or PEBES) is the form SSA uses to provide people who have worked under the Social Security program with information regarding their reported earnings 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.

NOTE: The Social Security Statement has no approved acronym. Although the term “PEBES” continues to be used internally within SSA, we should call the form the Social Security Statement or simply “the Statement” when discussing it with the public.

2. Form SSA-7005-SM-SI and SSA-L-7005-SM-SI

SSA must send the Social Security Statement automatically to specified eligible individuals defined in section 1143 of the Act. This version (Form SSA-7005-SM-SI) of the Statement, which is highlighted in green, is sent annually to the selected SSN holders.

The SSA-L-7005-SM-SI is sent automatically and is also highlighted in green. It is a one-page Statement From Social Security sent to those individuals having only non-covered earnings posted to their record.

3. Form SSA-7005-SM-OR and SSA-L-7005-SM-OR

Form SSA-7005-SM-OR is sent in response to an SSN holder’s request. Requesters may mail SSA a completed paper Form SSA-7004-SM-OP1, Request for Social Security Statement, or they may complete and transmit a similar form through SSA’s Internet web site (see RM 01301.014.). The on-request Statement is highlighted in blue.

NOTE: 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. We explain these factors in RM 01310.005.

The SSA-L-7005-SM-OR also has blue highlights and is sent to requesters who only have non-covered earnings posted to their record.

4. The Statement processing system

The Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate System (PEBES) 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 this system to the commercial contractor who prints and mails both automatic and on-request Statements.

5. Statement history file

The Statement History File is an electronic file that contains pertinent processing information such as when the last OR and 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 01301.025.)

6. PEBES Online

PEBES ONLINE is the query system that FO and TSC personnel can use to view the same earnings and benefit information provided on the requester’s Statement by entering the same information the requester provided on Form SSA-7004-SM-OP1. (See RM 01310.030)

7. NUMIDENT

The Numident is SSA’s numerical master file of Social Security number holders.

8. MBR

The MBR is SSA’s Master Beneficiary Record, the database that lists those persons who have filed claims for Social Security benefits.

9. MEF

The MEF is SSA’s Master Earnings File, the database that contains SSN holders’ recorded earnings.

10. Wilkes-Barre Data Operations Center (WBDOC)

The Wilkes-Barre Data Operations Center keys data from Social Security Statement request forms for processing through the PEBES system.

E. Procedure- (FO/TSC or CO/WBDOC)

  • •

    Handle requests received in the field office or TSC per instructions in RM 01301.015.

  • •

    Handle requests received in Central Office or WBDOC as indicated in RM 01340.000.

F. References

RM 01310.010 Exhibit and Discussion of the Social Security Statement (Form SSA-7005-SM-OR)

RS 00301.000 Rules for Credits

RS 00301.000 Insured Status

RM 02500.000 Unidentified Earnings Items

RM 03800.000 Earnings Discrepancies

RM 01400.000 Furnishing Earnings Information

To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0101301001
RM 01301.001 - Scope of Chapter - 02/10/2012
Batch run: 11/08/2024
Rev:02/10/2012