Social Security Administration Mails Incorrect 2007 Statements

Please read this important news for Seniors.  Due to an administrative mistake made by the Social Security Administration nearly 3 million people received incorrect statements for 2007.  PRO-TAX is here to assist tax-payers with problems resulting from this administrative snafu.  The following is a summary from the Social Security Administration (SSA) fact sheet:

What Happened?

Every January, the SSA mails SSA-1099 statements to the approximately 53 million beneficiaries who received a payment from the Agency during the previous calendar year.  This year, due to a programming error, an incorrect Social Security income amount was shown on SSA-1099s for about 2.7 million beneficiaries. 

Why is the amount wrong?

The programming error caused Medicare Part C and/or Part D premium deduction amounts (and some garnishment deduction amounts) for 2006 to be included in the amounts reported for 2007.  As a result, the "Benefits for 2007" fields (Box 3 and Box 5 of the SSA-1099) and the "Description of Amount in Box 3" field contain inaccurate amounts. 

What is SSA doing to fix the problem?

• SSA has already corrected the problem. 
• Revised SSA-1099s have been created, and were mailed by January 25, 2008. 
• The revised SSA-1099 states, in red typeface, that this is a "Corrected Notice" and that the revised SSA-1099 should be used in place of the previous notice. 
• SSA will also send IRS an SSA-1099 replacement file, so that IRS databases will contain the same taxpayer information as the revised SSA-1099 statements. 

Affected seniors should contact their local PRO-TAX office before filing their return.  We will insure that you complete the appropriate forms, and assist with an amendment if necessary. 

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