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Social Security
Column
Spring
Into a Stress-Free Retirement
By Erin Thompson, Social Security Office, Toledo
Guest Column
There’s nothing like saying “goodbye” to old man winter and
“hello” to budding green leaves and fresh flowers. Spring is
here! One way we welcome the season is by celebrating Stress
Awareness Month. Recognizing the sources of stress is the
best way to understand how you can start eliminating factors
in your life that put unnecessary strain on your body and
mind. Did you know that stress, also called the “silent
killer,” could cause heart disease and high blood pressure?
Social Security wants to make your retirement planning as
stress-free as possible, which is why we have a number of
online tools available for you. You can create your own
secure, personal
my Social Security
account from the comfort of your living room and avoid
unpleasant traffic and a possible wait in one of our local
offices.
Once you have a my Social Security account, you can
view your Social Security Statement, verify your
earnings record, and find out what to expect in monthly
benefits if you retire at ages 62, full retirement age, or
70. Once you begin receiving Social Security benefits, you
can use my Social Security to check your benefit
information, change your address and phone number, change
your electronic payment method, and obtain an instant
benefit verification letter and replacement SSA-1099/1042S.
In some areas, you can even request a replacement Social
Security card using your my Social Security account.
You can easily sign up for my Social Security at
www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
If you’re thinking about retiring at an age not shown on
your Statement, reduce the stress of the unknown by
using our Retirement Estimator. The Retirement
Estimator allows you to calculate your potential
future Social Security benefits by changing variables such
as retirement dates and future earnings. You may discover
that you’d rather wait another year or two before you retire
to earn a higher benefit. Or, you might see that this is the
season for you to kiss that work stress goodbye and retire
right now. To get instant, personalized estimates of your
future benefits, go to
www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator.
When you decide it’s time to start receiving your retirement
benefits, the application process is far less stressful now
that you’re prepared. You can securely apply online without
picking up the phone or leaving your house. Simply go to
www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline,
and, in as little as 15 minutes, you can breeze through our
online retirement application.
You can
enjoy Social Security’s stress-free retirement planning
tools any time of the year, giving you more time to enjoy
these warmer months. Now is the time to spring into
action and start planning for retirement.
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