If you remember a few years ago, every year, about three months before your birthday, you received an earnings and benefits statement from the Social Security Administration. The statement provided you with a history of your earnings and projected benefits. Then, along with the recession and the accompanying budget cuts, the mailing of the statements stopped, except for workers age 60 and older.
The earnings and benefits statements provided a valuable annual reminder of what you can expect to receive and how benefits are calculated. It also prompted us all to make Social Security part of our long-range retirement plans.
New Retirement Tool Now Available
On May 1st, Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that an online version of the Social Security Statement is now available at the Social Security website, www.ssa.gov. The new online statement provides eligible workers with secure and convenient access to their Social Security earnings and benefits information. The online statement also provides estimates for disability and survivors benefits, making the statement an important financial planning tool. People should make it a habit to check their online statement each year, around their birthday.
In addition to helping with financial planning, the online statement provides workers a convenient way to determine whether their earnings are accurately posted to their Social Security records. This feature is important, because Social Security benefits are based on average earnings over a person’s lifetime. If the earnings information is inaccurate, the person may not receive all the benefits to which he or she is entitled. The online statement provides the opportunity to save or print the personalized statement for financial planning discussions with family or a financial planner.
To get a personalized online statement, people age 18 and older must be able to provide information about themselves that matches information already on file with the Social Security Administration. In addition, the Social Security Administration uses Experian, an external authentication service provider, for additional verification. Users must provide their identifying information and answer security questions in order to pass this verification. The Social Security Administration will not share a person’s Social Security number with Experian, but the identity check is an important part of this new, robust verification process.
Once verified, users will create a “My Social Security” account with a unique user name and password to access their online statement. In addition, the portal includes links to information about other online services, such as, applications for retirement, disability, and Medicare.
It is important to note that the Social Security Administration anticipates some members of the public will not be able to be verified through this process. Some people may not correctly answer the security questions based on Experian’s file information, while others may supply identifying information that does not match their Social Security records. In instances where this occurs, people will have the option to request a hard copy of their Social Security Statement be mailed to them. Those who cannot verify online initially may visit their local Social Security office. You must present an identity document to create an account and gain access to the online version of their statement.
In February 2012, the Social Security Administration resumed mailing paper statements to workers age 60 and older, if they are not already receiving Social Security benefits. Later this year, the agency plans to mail paper statements to workers in the year they reach age 25. For more information about the new online statement, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement.com.
Henssler Financial believes you should Live Ready, and that includes understanding your Social Security credits and taxation of Social Security benefits. If you have questions about your Social Security benefits, contact our Tax Experts: experts@henssler.com or 770-429-9166.
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