Social Security Uses Your Highest 35 Years — Not Your Most Recent

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Social Security calculates your benefit from your highest 35 years of indexed earnings — meaning past wages are adjusted upward to reflect today's dollars before the top 35 are selected. If you worked fewer than 35 years, the missing years count as zeros, which drags your benefit down. Financial planner Devin Carroll recommends checking your earnings record annually at ssa.gov, because errors do occur — especially after a name change — and a missing year of wages can quietly reduce your benefit with no automatic correction from the Social Security Administration.