Printed Social Security Statements To End
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The annual Social Security statement, mailed out annually a few months before your birthday for all workers over age 25, will soon be a thing of the past.
The Social Security Administration says it will stop the paper statements soon, expected to save $70 million a year.
"It's very crucial to save money wherever we can, so if that saves money then I'm for it," says Mandy Webb of Crafton.
The paper statement outlines what your monthly benefits will be at age 62, age 66 or 67, and at age 70. It also details your earnings record.
Younger taxpayers often think it's junk mail.
"Do you look at that statement?" KDKA Money Editor Jon Delano asked.
"No, not at all. It just goes right in the trash recycling bin," says Chris Atwood of Penn Hills.
The agency hopes to provide the same information online by the end of the year, but that will require Americans to have a computer to get on to the Social Security website.
And some worry about the security of that.
"If it's online you would somehow have to use your Social Security number," says Webb. "That would be a little scarier than getting it in the mail."
Social Security says it's working to develop a secure online system, but young workers may not even log on to that.
"We're probably not going to have Social Security, so my 401k is more important than what Social Security is going to give me."
That's a common view among younger taxpayers, but it's hard to imagine politicians in Washington ending the Social Security program.
But these printed statements are most beneficial to those 50 and older as a tool to prepare for retirement.
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