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It's no
labor to apply online for retirement benefits
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[September 20, 2011]
If
you’re like most workers, you’ve labored hard throughout the year.
This Labor Day weekend, it’s nice to be able to kick back and take a
rest from all of your hard work. But it may also be a good time to
take a look at your retirement plans. The best starting point is to
visit Social Security’s Retirement Estimator at
www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.
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The Retirement Estimator
is an easy way to get an instant, personalized estimate of future
retirement benefits. The Estimator uses your actual earnings
history to compute a benefit estimate. However, for privacy
purposes, we do not display your earnings. You can enter a variety
of scenarios, such as different earnings amounts and retirement
dates, to find out how they will change your benefit amount.
If the picture looks better
than you anticipated, you might decide it’s time to punch your last
time card and leave the labor force for retirement sooner than you
expected. If that’s the case, the easiest way to apply for
retirement is online.
It used to be a labor to
apply for benefits. It used to mean making a trip to a Social
Security office and then being required to fill out paperwork. Now,
you can visit
www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline
to find out everything you need to know about applying online for
retirement benefits — and to proceed with filing the application
online in as little as 15 minutes.
In most cases, once you
submit your online application electronically, that’s it. There are
no additional forms to sign or paperwork to complete. In rare cases
where we need additional information, a representative will contact
you.
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column] |
 This Labor Day, picnics,
family, and friends are all part of the fun you’ve earned on a
holiday set aside to celebrate the fruit of your labor. But spend a
few moments considering what your labor has earned you through
Social Security protection for you and your family.
Learn more about Social
Security at
www.socialsecurity.gov.
By Judith Bartels
Social Security District
Manager in Springfield, IL
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