Get your Social Security statement online

7 May 2012

I don’t know if you noticed, but if you’re under 60, the Social Security Administration has stopped sending you your annual statement that details what you will be earning in Social Security payments after retirement or disability. The statements are now available for online access, however.

I have to admit, this news thrills me. I see these statements littering the homes of clients who are afraid to dispose of them. I always advise folks to glance at the statement to make sure the earning record is accurate, then file it, throwing away any prior statements.

Now you don’t have to worry about whether or not to keep those things. Simply go to the Social Security Administration’s website, follow the instructions to create an account (security is very tight) and and you can view your benefits. If you’d like, you can generate a pdf of your statement (which will look just like the paper statement you used to get) and store it on your computer or, if you must, print it and file it.

My friend, financial planner Michele Clark of Clark Hourly Financial Planning clued me in to this development. She has a little more detail about the online statements in her blog post on the topic.

While you’re over there, check out Michele’s other savvy, accessible blog posts about planning your finances. It’s a wealth of information!

Tagged with: michele clark, paper management, social security