No More Paper Social Security Statements- At least for Now

By: Teresa K. Bowman, Esq.

While everyone is pinching pennies and watching the budget, the Social Security Administration announced in April that it had decided to suspend the mailing of annual statements, and make them available online, not just to save money, but to push consumers to use their online site. So, if you look forward to getting those yearly updates what can you do?

The agency began the paper mailings about 20 years ago, sending annual statements to all workers 25 and older, as required by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation act (OBRA) of 1989, and amended by OBRA 1990. Statements are mailed out each year three months before a worker’s birth month. Currently, about 150 million statements are mailed at a cost of about $70 million a year. Putting the statements online will draw workers to the website and the Agency hopes they will return there should they need information in the future, reducing the number of phone calls and face to face inquiries.

Although online statements are not yet available, the Agency hopes to get them up and running by the end of the year. If they aren’t successful they will resume paper mailings. The process is being held up while the Agency works on making the information accessible to workers, yet confidential and secure. Through the transition period, the website or the local office will be your source of information, although it won’t tell you everything your paper statement did.

Your annual statement gave a lifetime look at your yearly earnings and payroll tax history and has always been a great way to check for any reporting errors. It also gave a breakdown of the benefits you would receive depending on the age you chose to retire, be it 65, 66, or 70, or what you might expect if you filed for disability. And while you can’t get all that information online, you can get some of it and do a lot of other things on the Social Security online portal.

You can apply for a new or replacement social security card (although the application is filled out online you still must personally take it into the office or mail it), apply for disability benefits, apply for Medicare, get forms and publications, and until your online statement is ready, you can use the “Retirement Estimator” to get a good idea of what benefits you would receive if you decide to retire, or apply for disability.

Estimating Your Benefits

You can use the estimator to determine your benefits provided you meet the following criteria:
1. Have enough credits to qualify (you need 40 credits to secure full benefits and currently
earn one credit for every $1,120 earned).
2. Are younger than 62.
3. Haven’t already applied for benefits.
4. Paid in social security taxes.

The Retirement Estimator can be found at www.sss.gov. The site is easy to navigate and has useful links that give you additional information such as choosing a retirement age, and things to consider before applying for benefits. What it won’t show are a breakdown of your yearly earnings and social security tax history.

Some advocates groups are complaining that putting all the information online will prove of little benefit to elders and others who either don’t have access to computers, or don’t have the computer skills to get the information. The agency is betting that the baby boomers won’t have this problem and are even running some commercials starring George Takei (Sulu) of Star Trek fame, and Patty Duke to get folks online and using the site. Due to the poor economy more people are applying for early benefits and applications for disability are on the rise. All this puts a strain on local offices and getting people off the phone and on the website will save time and money.

Along with the “Retirement Estimator”, AARP also has a benefits calculator that does pretty much the same thing if you want to check it out as well. It can be found at www.aarp.org/work.social-security/social-security-benefits-calculator.

If you need this information and can’t access it online you can always visit the local office. However, office hours have changed (effective August 15, 2011) and they now close at 3:30 rather than 4:00. Closing to the public a half-hour early is another cost saving measure as the agency wants to avoid paying overtime to employees finishing up work with those end-of-day visitors.

It isn’t surprising that this is happening given that just recently the Social Security Administration announced its intention to stop mailing out paper checks. Recipients have until March 1, 2013 to make the switch and if they don’t will receive their benefits via a prepaid debit card. As we move to a “paperless” society it’s likely that we can expect more government agencies to move in this direction. Less paper and fewer employees usually mean fewer dollars spent and today, more than ever, that always seems to be the bottom line.