Dear Editor:
June is the traditional month for weddings. I don’t know if there really are more weddings in June than any other month but it gives me an excuse to make an important pitch to any woman who intends to change her name because she is getting married, in June or any other month.
What’s the pitch? People who change their names should make sure they notify Social Security of the new name. And this doesn’t just apply to women who are getting married. It also could apply to a woman who officially changes her name following a divorce. And for that matter, it applies to anyone, man or woman, who changes his or her name for any reason.
The bottom line is that people should make sure that the name their employer is using to report earnings to the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration exactly matches the name in their Social Security records.
And why is that important? For several reasons. First IRS and SSA match computer records. If the name and Social Security number you report on your tax return do not match the name and Social Security number in our records, IRS will not process your tax return until you update your Social Security files. This could delay any tax refund you might be due.
The second reason it is important to make sure your records are up to date is because your potential Social Security benefits are based almost entirely on the earnings record we maintain for you. If your employer reports earnings to the government under your new name, and your Social Security record still shows your old name, we cannot add those earnings to your records. And missing earnings translate to lower Social Security benefits.
One bit of good news is that the name changing process is relatively simple. And the even better news is that the process is free if you handle it directly through the Social Security Administration. There are some private mail-order firms that target new brides with direct mail solicitations offering to change your name in Social Security records for a fee. All they do for the usual $25 to $50 fee is give you the name change form and then mail it to Social Security for processing.
You can save money by printing the form, called “SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, at www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber/. Once there, simply click on Application Form SS-5. Just complete the form and bring or mail it to your local Social Security office with either your marriage certificate showing your old and new names or two documents, one with your former name and one with your married name. All documents must be originals or certified copies. The applicaition form lists other documents Social Security accepts.
If you don’t have Internet access, you can call us at 1-800-772-1213 and handle the whole process by phone and mail.
Yvonne Bryant
Social Security Manager
Jersey City