Social Security Card changes & other news from SSA: vital info for payroll Details on New form of ID & Employee mismatch errors Social Security cards have been a mainstay in employee verification. But that may change down the line, according to representatives from the SSA at the 2019 American Payroll Association Capital Summit. The Social Security card as you know it could change to an entirely different form – or it may not even exist anymore. Currently, Social Security cards aren’t very durable, and compared to forms of ID from other countries, they don’t look authentic. In light of these issues, the SSA said the card could be totally revamped using sturdier materials, and it may also be replaced by other electronic methods of verifying a worker’s Social Security number. Implementing such a change would take a while, so for now at least, you should expect Social Security cards to stay as-is. Latest on W-2 errors Another pressing issue from the SSA is mismatches between workers’ names and Social Security numbers on Forms W-2. The agency started sending out its Employer Correction Request Notices in April 2019 to companies who filed their returns online and had at least one mismatch. A second batch of notices will be sent in September 2019 to paper filers and e-filers who weren’t notified in the first round. Mismatches are often triggered when employees start going by different names professionally, but don’t update that info with the SSA. Many states are passing civil rights legislation saying people have the right to use whatever name they’re comfortable with, so this may create a tricky situation when issuing a Form W-2 with a person’s preferred name instead of their legal one. Although a legal name change with the SSA is the only way to guarantee a mismatch won’t occur, there’s good news. Per the agency, if the person’s still using their legal last name, and most of their other info is similar, it may not always trigger a mismatch. However, if there’s someone with the person’s preferred name and a similar Social Security number in the SSA’s database, a mismatch will likely occur, and employers will have to correct it.