Somewhere, not too long ago, I read that they were no longer going to be mailing the statements. I assumed at that time that the online access would suffice. I suppose I was wrong.
Doing more with less, that's the (new) American way. Only what we get is less with less. What happened to the concept that America is "exceptional"?
The problem is that you can't use the Retirement Estimator unless you are already insured. To use the Online Calculator you need your earnings from your Statement. I think this is one of those BS stunts that cities use when they need to make budget cuts. Say you are going to close libraries and fire stations to upset the greatest number of people. I'm sure there are other things that SSA can stop to save money without doing this. I guess nest they will stop putting toilet paper in field office bathrooms and say it because of budget cuts.
Is there anyone who really "needs" this information. This is EXACTLY the type of thing I would hope that any sensible organization would do as funds diminish...provide only essential services. Clearly, by any definitiion, the "Request a Social Security Statement service" is NOT an essential service. Why is this news?
"Is there anyone who really "needs" this information. This is EXACTLY the type of thing I would hope that any sensible organization would do as funds diminish...provide only essential services."
SSA did away with the break-even calculator, since they wanted people to do planning in determining when to apply for benefits. How can you plan if you can't do a benefit estimate. Maybe not an essential service in the day to day operation of SSA, but an essential service in planning for your retirement.
If you're planning for retirement in the near future, you probably knew this for a while. This is a document that is sent out every year (except this year) and you should have your previous year's. The benefits won't dramatically increase or decrease and there are resources out there that estimate how much difference waiting will make.
We do not allow appointments for discussing benefit estimates or retirement options, and good luck trying to talk to the receptionist about it. or you could call the 800# lol.
Somewhere, not too long ago, I read that they were no longer going to be mailing the statements. I assumed at that time that the online access would suffice. I suppose I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteDoing more with less, that's the (new) American way. Only what we get is less with less. What happened to the concept that America is "exceptional"?
The problem is that you can't use the Retirement Estimator unless you are already insured. To use the Online Calculator you need your earnings from your Statement. I think this is one of those BS stunts that cities use when they need to make budget cuts. Say you are going to close libraries and fire stations to upset the greatest number of people. I'm sure there are other things that SSA can stop to save money without doing this. I guess nest they will stop putting toilet paper in field office bathrooms and say it because of budget cuts.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyone who really "needs" this information. This is EXACTLY the type of thing I would hope that any sensible organization would do as funds diminish...provide only essential services. Clearly, by any definitiion, the "Request a Social Security Statement service" is NOT an essential service. Why is this news?
ReplyDelete"Is there anyone who really "needs" this information. This is EXACTLY the type of thing I would hope that any sensible organization would do as funds diminish...provide only essential services."
ReplyDeleteSSA did away with the break-even calculator, since they wanted people to do planning in determining when to apply for benefits. How can you plan if you can't do a benefit estimate. Maybe not an essential service in the day to day operation of SSA, but an essential service in planning for your retirement.
If you're planning for retirement in the near future, you probably knew this for a while. This is a document that is sent out every year (except this year) and you should have your previous year's. The benefits won't dramatically increase or decrease and there are resources out there that estimate how much difference waiting will make.
ReplyDeleteOr you could always go to a field office.
We do not allow appointments for discussing benefit estimates or retirement options, and good luck trying to talk to the receptionist about it. or you could call the 800# lol.
ReplyDeleteHow much money does this really save? The people at WBDOC that process the paper 7004 requests are still there getting paid.
ReplyDelete"How can you plan if you can't do a benefit estimate."
ReplyDeleteIf you are relying on SSA retirement benefits for retirement, then you have serious problems.