No more annual statements from Social Security

[n2doc]

Posted by Cheryl Costa July 15, 2011 09:30 AM

It used to be that the Social Security Administration (SSA) sent everyone over the age of 25 an estimate of their expected Social Security benefit once retired. These statements were sent out once per year and they generally arrived three months before the recipient's birthday. However, in April of this year, the SSA stopped sending out paper estimates for workers under age 60.

At the time, the move was viewed as temporary -- a way to save money given the government's fiscal constraints. Not mailing the statements from April through the end of the year was expected to save over $30 million. Now, it appears the move might become permanent, which is too bad because it reduces the chance that workers will notice possible errors in their work history. Now, if you want to obtain an estimate of your future benefits, you will need to use the estimate calculator on the SSA website. That website can be accessed via www.ssa.gov/estimator

http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/managingyourmoney/archives/2011/07/no_more_annual.html

[dmallind]

1. Good idea - wasteful junkmail for most. Transitory interest for some, and for the very few

who were both very interested and needed to care about it, there is a better option available the other 364 days of the year too.

[Zywiec]

2. SSA Link provided doesn't work. n/t

[HopeHoops]

3. Just trust the fucking computer. "Oh, it is in the computer so it HAS to be correct."

Yeah, that *SO* worked out with the Diebold vote manipulation machines. No problem, man. Have an issue? Call this 800 number and talk to the computer Barbie until you finally get through to a human in India who will explain that whatever is in the computer is obviously correct and there's nothing anyone can do about it except send you an e-mail with the same information that you've already seen from the same computer. But in order for them to do that, you'll have to print out the information from the computer as presented on the web site and FAX it to a number that's always busy. I'd like to sucker punch the butt smear that came up with this "money saving" idea.

[BeFree]

5. That's funny, thanks, I needed the laugh n/t

[HopeHoops]

6. Humor?

:shrug:

[BeFree]

7. Laughing beats crying

I have shed too many tears already.

Sorry, Didn't mean to make light of your problems. (Our problems)

[JoePhilly]

11. What do you think they use to print the current paper statements?????

A type writer? Some one writes it out BY HAND??

Those statements are COMPUTER GENERATED. Same computer and data that generates those paper statements will be the back end for this system.

They could put anything they want on it NOW.

[HopeHoops]

15. Agreed, but if you have a paper bill and something changes later, you've got more than an Orwell...

...situation to work with. If you're satisfied with whatever the computer says reality is today with no way to back up your assertion that reality was different a few months or years ago, then who needs the paper copies? Errors happen, hacking happens, and criminal activity happens. Any of us could be the victim of these things, whether insidious, random, or accidental. Aren't we at war with Eurasia today?

On Edit: Problem #2 with "paperless" - a lot of companies (Citibank for example) only allow you to access the past six months of statements online. I've got paper going back much farther than that. This was a very real problem recently when I noticed that the newspaper had been double-billing me for some time. I had to use the paper statements to determine exactly how long because the online records weren't available prior to February.

It does depend on the company. Some go back a long way, but it is still a pain in the ass to open every damn PDF trying to hunt something down. I can scan the paper files in very short order. Sure I could open each one every month and print it out myself, but it is still going to result in paper. They can just send me the damn things.

[Lifelong Protester]

4. I never received one until I contacted THEM a couple of years

ago (I'm in my 50s and interested!) and now I get one regularly. Will that stop until I am 60? Who knows, eh?

[jwirr]

8. I never received one of those statements until I was retired. That is

a relatively new thing and a good cut. We can still get the information by asking if we want it.

[diddlysquat]

9. How?

How can we still get the information? The estimator gave me an estimate of less than last year and I know that isn't right. Will they still send those statements out if requested?

[jwirr]

12. Back then you asked for a card from the post office, filled it out and

sent it in. They then sent your personal information. Hardly any of us ever asked. That system would be much cheaper than sending everyone snail mail that ends up in the trash.

[grantcart]

10. SS is also phasing out physical checks. By the year 2014 all financial

transactions will have to be an electronic funds transfer.

[mmonk]

13. Out of sight, out of mind.

[Fearless]

14. So the American people won't see how they're being screwed.