For Mark Roberts’ Use: As you plan and prepare for retirement, you’re probably thinking a lot about your future budget. After you retire, you will be living off of the retirement income you’ve established for yourself, along with your Social Security benefits. You might be eyeing your retirement fund, anticipating the income you can withdraw from it in the future, but you have one more thing to do: Estimate your Social Security benefits.

There are many ways to do this, but one simple solution is to visit the Social Security website and use their tool, at www.ssa.gov/estimator . Be prepared to answer questions on the following details:

  • your name
  • your Social Security number
  • date of birth/place of birth
  • your mother’s maiden name
  • your expected age of retirement
  • additional information about your future earnings

After inputting your information, the tool will generate an estimate of your future monthly income from Social Security benefits. You will receive estimates for projected Social Security benefits under the following hypothetical scenarios:

  • You retire early at age 62 (the earliest age at which you can file for benefits)
  • Your wait until your full retirement age to file for benefits (age 65 to 67, depending on your year of birth)
  • You continue working until age 70 before claiming your benefi

Remember that this estimate is based upon the 30 highest-earning years of your career. If you have a few more years before retirement, and these are high-earning years for you, this estimate could increase.

As always, remember that Social Security was never intended to fully fund your retirement. If you find yourself disappointed with the estimate of your future benefits, you still have time to make catch-up contributions to your retirement fund, pay down significant debts, and make other provisions to ensure a more comfortable retirement. Give us a call, and we can help you find solutions that address your retirement planning concerns.