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Reporting SSI Wages Electronically and the Payroll Information Exchange

This guide presents selected U.S. government consumer education from Social Security Administration. References to “we” or “us” in the source material refer to the issuing agency. Source dates and links appear below.

SSI SPOTLIGHT ON ELECTRONIC WAGE REPORTING TOOLS-- 2026 Edition

What Are Electronic Wage Reporting Tools?

Social Security has created several electronic options for wage reporting.

  • The SSI Telephone Wage Reporting system;
  • The SSA Mobile Wage Reporting application;
  • The online tool within the my Social Security portal (myWageReport).

These tools save you time and help you report important wage information to Social Security without the need for you to call, visit, or write your local Social Security office.

The SSI Telephone Wage Reporting system is a toll-free automated system that allows certain recipients, their spouses, parents, and representative payees to report the total gross monthly wages from pay stubs for the prior month to SSA using the telephone.

The SSA Mobile Wage Reporting application allows certain recipients, their spouses, parents, and representative payees to report total gross monthly wages from pay stubs for the prior month using a mobile device.  Wage reporters can download and install the free application on an Apple or Android mobile device.

The my Social Security portal has a convenient online wage reporting tool that is available to use on a computer or mobile device. This tool allows certain recipients, their spouses, parents, and representative payees with a my Social Security account to report pay stub information online. Additionally, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries and their representative payees can use this tool to report their earnings.

Who Can Use Electronic Wage Reporting Tools?

Only certain individuals can report monthly wages using electronic wage reporting tools, and one option may be better for you to use than the others depending on your circumstances. Please contact your local Social Security office to see which wage reporting option is best for you. If electronic wage reporting is an option for you, the office will provide you with instructions for how to report wages using your preferred method.

What You Need Before You Report Wages Using The Telephone Reporting System Or The Mobile Application

  • The Social Security number of the person who is making the wage report (the caller or mobile device user).
  • The Social Security number of the wage earner.
  • All pay stubs for wages paid in the report month. If you are using the SSI Telephone Wage Reporting system, you will add up and provide the gross wages received by the wage earner for the month. Gross wages are the amount of pay before taxes and other deductions. If you are using the SSA Mobile Wage Reporting application, you will upload an image of each pay stub or key in information from each pay stub during the mobile reporting process.
  • The caller’s or mobile device user’s name as it appears on his or her Social Security card.

IMPORTANT: If you are using telephone reporting system, please be sure to call from a quiet location, since background noise may cause the report to fail.

What You Need Before You Report Wages Online With Mywagereport

  • An active my Social Security account.
  • All pay stubs for wages paid in the report month. If the wage earner has multiple employers, you will need pay stubs from all the employers. You will copy information from each pay stub during the online reporting process.

When Should You Report Wages Using Electronic Wage Reporting Tools?

We encourage you to report wages using our electronic wage reporting tools during the first six days of the month to help prevent an incorrect SSI payment. You can choose any of the first six days of the month to report.  If you miss reporting during the six-day reporting period at the beginning of the month, you can still report the prior month’s gross wages at any time during the month using our electronic reporting tools or you can report to your local Social Security office.

Remember, we encourage consistent monthly wage reporting early in the month to help prevent SSI overpayments and underpayments.

Who Is The Wage Earner?

A wage earner is the person who is working and receiving wages or payment for working.  You are the wage earner if you are working and you are reporting your own wages.  If you are reporting someone else’s wages, then the wage earner is the person whose wages you are reporting. 

Is There Another Way To Report Wages?

Yes.

If using electronic wage reporting tools is not an option, you should report the following information to your local Social Security office:

  • the total gross monthly wage amount for the prior month,
  • the name of the wage earner,
  • the wage earner’s social security number, and
  • the name and social security number of the person who receives SSI. 

Report the monthly wage information by: 

  • Sending a fax with the gross wage amount and applicable month.
  • Mailing a brief letter with the gross wage amount and applicable month.
  • Calling your local field office.
  • Bringing your pay stubs into your local field office.

WAGE REPORTING REMINDER

You can now sign up for email or text reminders to report monthly wages for SSI at https://www.ssa.gov/ssiwagereporting/ on our website.

 

THIS INFORMATION IS GENERAL.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 1–800–772–1213 (TTY 1–800–325–0778),
VISIT OUR WEBSITE (www.ssa.gov) ON THE INTERNET,
OR CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE.


SSI spotlight on the Payroll Information Exchange (PIE)

What Is The Payroll Information Exchange (Pie)?

PIE is an automated method of collecting wage and employment information. Each month, a Payroll Data Provider (PDP) sends Social Security wage and employment information for people who:

    provided authorization, and work for an employer that participates in the PDP’s services.

Social Security currently uses Equifax as the PDP for PIE.

How Does Pie Affect My SSI?

PIE may reduce how much information you need to report to us. Workers who have provided authorization and whose wages are reported to Social Security by the PDP (Equifax) do not need to report changes in monthly wages for participating employers. We will send you a notice if we start or stop receiving your wage information through PIE and we will tell you which employer(s) are participating. These notices will also tell you about any changes to your reporting responsibilities.

SSI recipients who fail to report information or who report false information can be subject to penalties that reduce or stop their payments. People who receive SSI and provide authorization are protected from the penalty of ineligibility for SSI cash benefits related to any wage and employment information we receive from the PDP (Equifax). Other penalties may still apply.

What Information Do I Need To Report?

You must continue to report any changes to monthly wages unless you receive a notice telling you that we are receiving wage reports from your employer(s) through PIE. If you have multiple employers and not all of them participate through PIE, you must continue to report wages for the employer(s) that do not participate. For more information about electronic reporting options, see the Spotlight on Monthly Wage Reporting.

Even if you receive a notice telling you we are receiving wage reports through PIE for all your employers, you must continue to report right away if you:

    have an improved medical condition; start or stop a job; or have a new employer.

You must continue to report any changes in other income, resources, and living arrangements. Additionally, let us know if you have any work expenses related to your medical condition. We may be able to deduct these expenses from your total wages when we determine your payment amount.

How Do I Give Social Security Authorization To Receive My Employment Information Through Pie?

We ask for your authorization when you file for SSI payments or SSDI benefits. We may also ask for your authorization during SSI redeterminations, SSDI work reviews, or if you report a work-related change. Additionally, you can provide authorization at any time by contacting us and letting us know you’d like to provide wage and employment information authorization, or by completing the SSA-8240 form, available on the Forms page of the SSA.gov website. Once you provide authorization, you generally do not need to provide it again while you are receiving benefits.

Providing your authorization is voluntary. You can revoke your authorization at any time by sending us a written request or by contacting us. Refusing to provide authorization or deciding to revoke it does not affect your eligibility for SSI or SSDI or your payments. However, if you revoke your authorization, all your reporting responsibilities resume and your penalty protection ends. We will notify you in writing of these changes.

What Should I Do If I Do Not Agree With The Information The Payroll Data Provider Is Sending To Social Security?

We will send you a notice when we start receiving your wage information through PIE. The notice tells you which employers are participating. You will also receive a notice if wage and employment information received through PIE changes your SSI payments.

If you disagree with the wage and employment information on these notices, contact us right away to update your record. You can also reach out to the PDP (Equifax) or your employer to correct the information. The notices we send when wage and employment information we receive through PIE affects your payments provides contact information for the PDP (Equifax).


THIS INFORMATION IS GENERAL.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 1–800–772–1213 (TTY 1–800–325–0778),
VISIT OUR WEBSITE (www.ssa.gov) ON THE INTERNET,
OR CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICE.


Sources and publication details

The federal agency source text is U.S. government work in the public domain. Fynoptic selected, adapted, and formatted it for this guide. No agency endorsement is implied. Follow the linked sources for current program details and the rules applicable to your circumstances.

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