Back in the spring, I wrote about how the federal government, to cut costs, has stopped mailing annual Social Security statements to most workers. Instead, the agency now invites workers to register and check their benefits online.
It's important to check your statement, to make sure your annual income - the basis for calculating your retirement benefits - is correctly recorded.
I was skeptical that I'd remember to check my statement each year if it didn't prompt me by arriving in my mailbox, but I was willing to give the system a try. After a bit of a hassle about choosing a password and security questions, I was able to register online in May. I then promptly forgot about the whole thing.
Until last week, that is, when I got an e-mail from the Social Security Administration, reminding me to go online to check my statement. So far, so good!
As I had feared, though, I had forgotten my log-in credentials and couldn't seem to locate them in my records. So I went through the process of requesting my username and password, which required me to enter my Social Security number and birth date, and answer three security questions that I'd previously established when I registered. That allowed me to obtain my username, and to quickly reset my password and gain access to my statement.
The most recent income totals looked correct. Plus, the statements also provide information about what your payment will be at “full†retirement age, which varies by year of birth, as well as if you retire early, at age 62. The difference is striking. My total benefits at full retirement, age 67, are estimated to be about $600 more a month than i f I retire at age 62.
The statement also estimates your monthly benefit if you become disabled, and, if you're a parent, what your children's survivor benefits would be if you were to die.
The site allows you to print your statement, and there's also an option to deactivate your online account, should you change your mind about using the Internet to monitor your statements. (Workers who are 60 and older and not yet receiving benefits still get paper ones mailed.)
Have you checked your Social Security statements online? Did you receive an e-mail reminder?
