determining your social security benefits (t verrett)

Projecting Your Social Security Benefits Using the

Social Security Website

A Guide for Pre-Retirees

Prepared By and Provided Courtesy of

Provided as a courtesy for educational purposes only. Not warranted by the Social Security Administration.

Brokers Alliance, Inc, disclaims any liability for the use of this information.

TRIUMVIRATE CAPITAL GROUP, INC

15165 VENTURA BLVD., SUITE 245

SHERMAN OAKS, CA 91403

TEVIS VERRETT

CORPORATE OFFICES CA/MI: 844.341.9992

For use with non-registered products only. The insurance products described may be issued by various companies and may not be available in all states, and state variations may apply. All references

to insurance products are subject to the contractual terms and conditions of the issuer. These materials are provided for educational purposes Brokers Alliance, Inc., makes no representation regarding

the suitability of the concepts or products for an individual, and this should not be construed as providing tax or legal advice. You should consult your own tax and/or legal advisors before purchasing

these products. To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that, unless expressly stated otherwise, any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication

(including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (1) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (2) promoting, marketing, or

recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

© 2014 Brokers Alliance, Inc.



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INTRODUCTION

Social Security benefits provide a significant portion of

total retirement income for most Americans, thus it is

important when doing retirement planning to have as

accurate as possible estimate of your benefits.

This document is focused upon using the Social

Security website to assist you in obtaining benefit

projections for use in your retirement planning.

The Social Security Administration provides two key tools to

assist you in projecting your future retirement benefits:

Annual Social Security Statement

No longer printed and mailed, the Annual Social Security

Statement can only be obtained via the website. The

statement provides estimated retirement benefits only at Full

Retirement Age, Age 62, and at age 70. To obtain your annual

statement, you must first create an online User Name and

Password. Instructions for creating an account are at page 3,

the statement is detailed at page 5.

Retirement Estimator

The Retirement Estimator is an online tool that allows

retirement benefit scenario estimates at different ages and at

different projected annual earnings until retirement, thus is

typically of greater value in retirement income planning.

You are not required to create an online User Name and

Password to access the Retirement Estimator, but are

required to provide personal information intended to verify

their identity. Step-by-step instructions for accessing and

using the Retirement Estimator begin at page 6.

Two Key Tools for

Determining

Projected Benefits.

Determining Your Projected Social Security Benefits










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Your Annual Social Security Statement

No longer printed and mailed annually, the Annual Social Security Statement can only be obtained via the

website. To obtain your annual statement, you must first create an online User Name and Password.

To Create a User Name and Password:

Go to www.ssa.gov. The Social Security site

will appear similar to that shown to the right.

Click on My Social Security; Sign In or

Create an Account icon at the center of the

page.

The Create Sign In or Create An Account

page will appear as shown at the right.

Scroll down and click on the Create an

Account button at the lower left corner of the

page.

Follow the instructions to create the account

User Name and Password.

Continued at next page…

Create an Account










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Accessing Your

Annual Social Security Statement

After your account is established, the My

Social Security page will appear similar to that

shown at the right.

At the lower left corner of the page, click on

the Print/Save Your Full Statement button.

Your statement will appear in PDF format for

printing and/or saving.

That’s it - you have obtained

Your Social Security Statement.

Your Annual Social Security Statement is

detailed at the following page.










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Your Annual Social Security Statement

The statement consists of four pages:

Cover, Page 1

Your Estimated Benefits, Page 2

Your Earnings Record, Page 3

Some Facts About Social Security, Page 4

For estimated retirement benefits, go to the top of page 2 as shown below.

The statement provides estimated retirement benefits only at three ages:

Full Retirement Age, or “FRA” (value shown is the projected Primary Insurance Amount).

Age 70 (the age at which maximum benefits are attained).

Age 62 (the earliest age for benefits, reflecting the benefit reduction prior to FRA).

The estimates shown on the statement reflect:

The individuals Social Security earnings record, and;

Assume that their reported earnings from two years prior continue until retirement (i.e. the

2014 statement assumes the same annual income as reported in 2012).

When forecasting retirement income, you may need different information than is shown

on the Annual Social Security Statement; for example, you may want to estimate benefits

at different ages than shown, or at different estimated future earnings. Both can be

accomplished by using the Retirement Estimator on the website. Instructions for using

the Retirement Estimator are at the following pages.










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The Retirement Estimator

The Retirement Estimator is an online tool that allows retirement benefit scenario estimates at different

ages and at different projected annual earnings until retirement, thus is typically of greater value in

retirement income planning. You are not required to create an online User Name and Password to access

the Retirement Estimator, but are required to provide personal information intended to verify their identity.

To Access the Retirement Estimator

Go to www.ssa.gov. The Social Security site

will appear similar to that shown at the right.

Click on the Retirement Estimator option.

The retirement estimator information page will

appear similar to that shown at the right.











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Scroll down to the bottom of the page and

click on the Estimate Your Retirement

Benefits button.

The Verify Your Identity page will appear

similar to that shown at the right. You need to

enter:

Your First Name, MI, and Last Name.

Any Other Last Name used.

Your Mother’s Maiden Name.

Your Social Security Number.

Your Date of Birth.

Your State of Birth.

At the bottom of the page is the Terms of

Service Agreement. Click the I agree to the

Terms of Service box.

Click on the Submit button at the lower left

corner of the screen.











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You are now in the Retirement Estimator, which will look

similar to that shown at the right.

Enter your earnings from last year.

Don’t enter more than is subject to FICA taxes, as

any earnings above the FICA limit ($117,000 for

2014) don’t contribute to benefits.

Your Retirement Benefit Estimate will appear similar to

that shown at the right.

The information shown at this page is the same as shown

on your Annual Social Security Statement, but updated with

your last years earnings:

Full Retirement Age, or “FRA” (value shown is the

projected Primary Insurance Amount).

Age 70 (the age at which maximum benefits are attained).

Age 62 (the earliest age for benefits, reflecting the benefit

reduction prior to FRA).

Now you can run some other estimates.

At the lower left corner of the page, click on the Add a

New Estimate button.











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The Add a New Estimate page appears similar to that

shown at the right. Enter:

The age you want to start benefits (for example, 68).

Your estimated annual earnings until retirement (for

example, $60,000).

Click on the Submit button at the lower left corner of the

page.

Your Retirement Benefit Estimate page appears, similar

to that shown at the right.

The new estimate will appear on top of the previous

estimates. In this example you now have the following

estimates:

Age 68, with earnings of $60,000 annually until

retirement; estimated monthly benefit of $2,520.







Click on the Add A New Estimate button at the lower left

corner of the page.

The Add a New Estimate page appears similar to that

shown at the right. Enter:

The age you want to start benefits (for example, 67).

Your estimated annual earnings until retirement (for

example, $75,000).

Click on the Submit button at the lower left corner of the

page.











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Your Retirement Benefit Estimate page appears, similar

to that shown at the right.

The new estimate will appear on top of the previous

estimates. In this example you have added a new age 67

estimate:



To the right of each of your custom estimates, you can click

the Edit button if you want to change the estimates.

To print your retirement estimates, click on the Print this

page button at the upper right corner of the page.

Click on the Exit button at the lower left corner of the page.

That’s it - you’re finished!

determining your social security benefits (t verrett)

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