Do You Know What Your Social Security and Benefits Are?

Do you know how to estimate your Social Security benefits based on your Retirement age? Do you even know how to get a copy of your Social Security statement? How about the Social Security Administration’s math, is it accurate? Do you know how to get an error corrected? These are all questions that as a baby boomer about to retire you should know the answers.

The Social Security Administration tracks your earnings and work credits through your social security number and records this information in a data base. Anyone over the age of 25 and not already receiving Social Security benefits should be receiving this information annually from the Social Security Administration office. This statement gives you an estimate of what your benefits will be when you retire.

If you are not receiving your statement or wish to get another copy you can go to the Social Security Administration web site and follow the instructions. If you do not want to do it over the Internet, you can call your local Social Security office or 1-800-772-1213 and ask that the form “Request for Social Security Statement, SSA 7004” to be mailed. You can then fill out the form and return it.

Once you have your statement, you need to go through it. Check the years you worked, the earnings and the withholdings. You need to double check the Social Security Administration’s math for errors. Some government-watchers estimate that the Social Security Administration makes mistakes on at least 3% of the total official earnings records.

If after you examine the statement and double check the listings against your pay stubs and income tax returns you find that there is an error, you will need to call the Social Security help line. They can be reached Monday through Friday, 7AM to 7 PM at 1-800-772-1213. This number handles all the incoming calls and usually has a very long wait time. Be prepared for this and be patient. If you cannot get through or the wait time is too long, try calling at a different time of day. Usually early morning or late afternoon, late in the week, or late in the month are best times with lower call volume. Have your documents ready to assist the representative when you finally get to speak with one.

If you would rather not wait on the phone but speak face to face, call your local office and make an appointment. Make a copy of your statement and a copy of your evidence that supports your claim of higher income. That way you can leave a copy with the Social Security worker for your file. Make sure to write down the name of the person whom you speak with so you can follow up with that same person.

This process can be very slow so be patient. It can take several months for the Social Security Administration office to get your information confirmed and updated. Once they have corrected your records, request another benefits statement just to make sure everything has been updated and so that you have a corrected statement for your records.

Your accurate statement will list your Social Security retirement benefit at various ages (65-67) depending on when you were born. And based on the age you claim benefits either before or after your full retirement age. If you choose early retirement you will only receive a percentage of your retirement.

Some choose to take the early retirement Social Security benefits either to assist with living expenses or due to a health condition that makes it unlikely that you will live past the age of 75.

The Social Security web site has a calculator so you can see which retirement age makes the most financial sense for you. You are the only that can decide if these benefits are worth waiting for, or an early retirement. is best.