A couple of weeks ago we reported that Social Security would scrap its ban on mailing Social Security statements to workers, a practice that began in 2011, and now the government agency has confirmed that report.
“We have listened to our customers, advocates and Congress, and renewing the mailing of the statement reinforces our commitment to provide the public with an easy, efficient way to obtain an estimate of future Social Security benefits,” said Carolyn Colvin, Social Security’s acting commissioner.
Regardless of the decision to reinstate paper statements, Colvin still urges people to sign-up for online accounts, probably because Social Security saved about $70 million annually in avoiding mailing statements to workers.
“I encourage everyone to create their own secure my Social Security account to obtain immediate access to their statement online anytime,” Colvin said.
One thing Colvin did not say in the release from Social Security is that if people do sign-up for an online account they will not receive paper statements in the mail because the same statements can be accessed online.
Now that Social Security has resumed mailing statements, workers will get these statements once every five years up until age 60 when they will receive annual statements for their earnings. The statements estimate a worker’s earnings so workers can see what they will receive for monthly benefits in retirement or disability pay.
Workers can expect to receive statements in the mail about three months prior to their birthday when they reach the ages of 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60. Workers must be at least 18 years old to begin receiving statements. Social Security estimates that it will send out about 48 million statements every year.
To learn more about Social Security’s decision to resume mailing paper statements click here.
