So, I got my annual statement from the Social Security Administration, and it shows no earnings for the year 2001. This being incorrect (I had one employer for that year and I did, in fact, earn more than $0), I called them and was told that I need to take my W-2 to the SS office.
I know I have the 2001 W-2, and I know I filed taxes that year. I had to have it last year when I was applying for financial aid for the 2002-2003 academic year and I know I would not have discarded it (that would be a big mistake) when I moved - but I can’t locate it.
If I can’t find it (I still have a couple of places to look - like the 2 boxes of documents that I knew I needed to move but haven’t had a chance to transfer to the filing cabinet yet), how likely is it that I could get a copy from that employer? It is a reputable company with good retention policies (and practices), but are they required to keep W-2s for any number of years, or just the payroll records (because those records are what’s used to generate the W-2s)?
Or, basically, am I screwed if for any reason I can’t locate it?