Most people would agree that planning is essential to achieving any goal. This is especially true for reaching retirement milestones. Luckily, there are tools and resources that can help you plan for -- and reach -- your retirement goals. One valuable tool is my Social Security, brought to you by the Social Security Administration. This is National my Social Security Week, which makes it the perfect time to create your account.
My Social Security is a free and secure account that lets you access and manage your personal Social Security information online, whether you're still working or already receiving benefits. During your working years, you can use your account to see your Social Security statement. This allows you to check your earnings record and see estimates of the future retirement, disability, and survivor benefits you and your family may receive based on your earnings.
If you already receive Social Security benefits or have Medicare, you can use my Social Security to check your benefit information, change your address and phone number, change your electronic payment methods, obtain a benefit verification letter, get a replacement Medicare card, and more.
After checking your online Social Security statement, try out the SSA's Retirement Estimator. This tool lets you compute your potential future Social Security benefits by changing variables like retirement dates and future earnings. You may discover, for instance, that you'd rather delay retirement for another year or two so that you can earn a higher benefit. The Retirement Estimator gives you instant, personalized estimates of your future benefits.
For more information about my Social Security, check out www.socialsecurity.gov.
This article originally appeared on FINRA.
