Mismatched W-2 Notices

Posted by Lee Reams Sr., BSME, EA on

Your business clients may begin receiving notices in 2019 from the Social Security Administration (SSA) related to Forms W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement) they submitted that contain name and Social Security number (SSN) combinations that do not match the SSA’s records. The SSA refers to these notices as Educational Correspondence (EDCOR).

The reasons for these mismatches may include typographical errors, unreported name changes, and inaccurate or incomplete employer records.

When the SSA cannot match the name and SSN reported on a Form W-2 with their records, the worker will not receive the appropriate credit for earnings, which may result in the worker not qualifying for the Social Security benefits they are due or the benefit amount may be incorrect.

The SSA webpage contains links to samples of three letters: the EDCOR Announcement, the Employer Correction Request letter, and the Third Party Provider Notification.

The EDCOR Announcement asks recipients to help the SSA ensure the accuracy of wage reporting for their employees by registering for Business Services Online, which includes such services as the Social Security Number Verification Service and AccuWage.

The SSA webpage for Employer Correction Request Notices provides that, beginning in the spring of 2019, the SSA will notify each employer with at least one W-2 form with a mismatch, that corrections are needed.

According to the sample Third Party Provider Notification, employers with one or more name and SSN combinations submitted within the last several months that the SSA could not process will receive an announcement letter regarding the discrepancies. The Third Party Provider Notification sample also says that the announcement letter to employers will inform them that they will receive an EDCOR notice in 2019 and requests employers to review and correct their records.