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Financial Literacy Month, A Perfect Time to Plan for Your Future

April 15, 2019 • By

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Last Updated: November 3, 2023

" "April is Financial Literacy Month and there’s no better time than right now to begin to save for your future. The earlier you start saving, the more you can accrue in a 401k individual retirement account and other types of IRAs. Social Security helps secure your future, but Social Security is only one part of a more complete retirement plan.

Financial literacy includes having access to not just the correct general information, but also to your personal financial information. You can open your own personal my Social Security account and quickly have access to your information from anywhere. There, you can do many things, but the most important thing is to view your Social Security Statement.

Your Social Security Statement is an easy-to-read personal record of the earnings on which you have paid Social Security taxes and a summary of the estimated benefits you and your family could receive, including potential retirement, disability, and survivors benefits. Once you have an account, you can view your Statement at any time. You’ll want to verify that your recorded earnings are correct, because your future benefits are based on your recorded earnings.

We also offer the online Retirement Estimator that provides immediate and personalized benefit estimates based on your earnings record. And, best of all, the Retirement Estimator is an interactive tool that allows you to compare different retirement scenarios like future earnings and different retirement ages.

One sure way to stay on top of your financial future is to join the more than 38 million people who have opened their own personal my Social Security account. The sooner you start planning for retirement the better off you will be.

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About the Author

Darlynda Bogle, Assistant Deputy Commissioner

Darlynda Bogle, Assistant Deputy Commissioner

Comments

  1. Cheryl D.

    My account has been locked can you please unlock it
    thank you

    • Ann C.

      Hi, Cheryl. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. If you are still unable to access your account or encounter a problem with your personal my Social Security account, you may:
      •Call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. At the voice prompt, say “helpdesk”; or
      •Contact your local Social Security office. We hope this helps.

  2. shania

    Hi, Janis. Medicare will pay for dental services in specific cases. To learn more, visit Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s website here. We hope this helps.website

  3. maaad

    Hear, hear. Great to hear someone else who recognizes and appreciates this valuable program. Additionally, it’s extremely cost-effective; administrative costs account for only 1% of SSAs budget, everything else goes straight to benefits. Further, the program is SELF FUNDED, meaning Social Security does not and never has added one penny to the national debt nor does it come out of the US Treasury.چت روم مشهد

  4. honi

    Hi, Janis. Medicare will pay for dental services in specific cases.چت روم مشهد

  5. Janis S.

    I am searching to find the Dept on line that can help me check out different Dental coverages, as our previous Agent, Washington Dental is no longer available.

    • Ann C.

      Hi, Janis. Medicare will pay for dental services in specific cases. To learn more, visit Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s website here. We hope this helps.

  6. infyseo

  7. Mr T.

    If your department ssa ,pay my benefits after 04/01/2019 by deposit direct transfer to my account holding bangkok bank in new york brand by IAT systems and Thank for assistance my case retirement plan.gov!

  8. phillip w.

    my social security accounts are hard to get back into after they are set up,even when you write username and password down and are sure they are correct.

  9. ROY O.

    WOW finally a page I can understand and read. Keep up the good work for us already retired and enjoying my SS.

  10. Mel A.

    Financial Literacy Month is a great time to remind people that Social Security is the greatest anti-poverty social insurance program in the history of our country.
    It provides disability benefits for workers who can no longer work because of health benefits.
    It provides survivor benefits for the family of a worker who dies.
    And, if nothing untoward occurs during a workers period of employment it pays a guaranteed benefit for a lifetime of .retirement.
    Americans love their Social Security and rightly so.

    • Marc

      Hear, hear. Great to hear someone else who recognizes and appreciates this valuable program. Additionally, it’s extremely cost-effective; administrative costs account for only 1% of SSAs budget, everything else goes straight to benefits. Further, the program is SELF FUNDED, meaning Social Security does not and never has added one penny to the national debt nor does it come out of the US Treasury. Social Security is NOT an entitlement program nor “welfare,” it is 100% paid for by workers and employers. Finally, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is also NOT an entitlement nor welfare, but a partial payment of the retirement benefit the worker would have received at age 65 anyway, just paid out if the worker is totally and permanently disabled to the point where s/he cannot and will not be able to work at any job again due to unforeseen illness or injury. Just to clarify some of the many misconceptions a lot of people seem to have about Social Security. It’s the longest running, most successful and cost effective program the US government has ever achieved. We should be grateful and proud instead of complaining and knocking it because of false information and beliefs spread about the program. Thank you for the great work, SSA.

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