social security insights

If you belong to the portion of the population aged 60 or older, you have probably given a good bit of thought to Social Security; if you are much younger than that, the concept is probably not high on your current list of priorities.
But as a financial planner and investment adviser, I routinely find that the various benefits available via the Social Security Administration are an important and often misunderstood part of folk's financial picture.

it's your money, coming back

One thing to understand upfront is that almost everyone earning income in the United States pays a tax into the Social Security fund throughout their earning years.  Although Social Security benefits are sometimes described as "entitlements" in a way that suggests otherwise, the money that retirees get back comes primarily from their own contributions and those of their peers and the generations preceding / following them.

spouses and kids can benefit, too

Some of the benefits available via Social Security are available to spouses and children of the income earner who paid into the system.  For instance, in a two parent household if one worked outside the home for a wage and the other spent their working years raising kids and caring for the home, the one without an income history may also qualify for a retirement benefit based on the contributions of the working spouse.

check your benefits early and often

The Social Security Administration offers a couple of tools that are really very valuable for gaining a basic understanding of where a given person stands in relation to their potential benefits.

• The "Retirement Estimator" does not require a log-in, but does use personal information to generate a current snapshot of assumed retirement income benefits at a few different ages, reflecting the potential value in waiting to begin taking that benefit
• The "My Social Security" is a page that does require a log-in, and provides much more information than the estimator, including a history of wages and a measure on whether you have accumulated sufficient "credits" to qualify for Social Security benefits.

Given that there is no cost but meaningful benefits to having this information in hand, it is well worthwhile to take a moment now and regularly in the future to check in on your personal benefits.