Update Letters Come To End

HEATHER STAUFFER

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A cost-cutting move by Social Security means no more automatic updates on how much you can expect to receive in benefits.

After several years of mailing the reports sporadically, the agency announced this month that it's discontinuing the practice to save an estimated $11.3 million a year.

Instead, the federal agency is encouraging people to sign up to get the information at ssa.gov/myaccount.

The statements typically include estimates of your future retirement, disability and survivor benefits, as well as your total earnings per year and how much you have paid toward Social Security and Medicare taxes.

They also ask you to contact the agency if the amounts listed are not accurate.

The change in statement policy will not affect people aged 60 and older who are not yet receiving Social Security and have not signed up on the website; they will continue to receive mailed statements.

"We know that our cutbacks will affect many of you, but we have no choice," agency spokesman Doug Walker wrote in a blog announcing the change.

But, he said, after adjusting for inflation, Social Security has 10 percent less money to run its programs since 2010, while the number of beneficiaries has gone up 13 percent.

Joe Wirbick, president and co-owner of the

Lancaster-based financial planning firm Sequinox, said it's important to check the statement regularly.

For one thing, he said, benefits are based on earnings, but Social Security sometimes makes mistakes, and there's a seven-year window to correct them by submitting W-2s or tax returns.

After that, any errors are set in stone, potentially depriving people of benefits they should have received.

"Maybe 5 percent of the statements we review have either missing years or misquoted years," Wirbick said. "Everybody should download a statement, I'd say annually, and check it."

And, he said, it's also a good to get an idea how much you can expect to receive in benefits, to get a head start on retirement planning.

Setting up an account on the website and accessing the report requires a valid email address, Social Security number, and U.S. mailing address.

Applicants will also be asked questions that only they should be able to answer and to provide several different types of information, the agency says.

Those who do not know the required information or prefer not to answer them online may apply in person at a local Social Security office, where they will be required to prove their identity.