Jane Yamamoto
Courtesy: Social Security Administration
Social Security’s my Social Security account offers many time-saving features. Once you create an account, you will see that we already have your work history and secure information to estimate what you could receive once you start collecting benefits. With your personal my Social Security account, you can also:
• Request a replacement Social Security card;
• Set up or change direct deposit;
• Get a proof of income letter;
• Change your address;
• Check the status of your Social Security application; and
• Get a Social Security 1099 form (SSA-1099).
For over 80 years, Social Security has worked to meet the changing needs of the American public. Today, you can apply for retirement, disability and Medicare benefits online, as well as take care of other business.
Knowledge is power. You care about your friends’ and family’s future, so encourage them to create a my Social Security account. Learn what you can do online anytime and anywhere at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
Jane Burigsay is Social Security’s public affairs specialist in Hawai‘i.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Question: I’m planning to retire next year. I served in the Navy back in the 1960s and need to make sure I am credited for my military service. What do I have to do?
Answer: You don’t have to do anything to apply for the special credit for your military service — it is added automatically. For service between 1957 and 1967, we will add the extra credits to your record at the time you apply for Social Security benefits. If you served between 1968 and 2001, those extra military service credits have already been added to your record. So, rest assured that we have you covered. Read our online publication, Military Service and Social Security, at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10017.html. Then, when the time comes to apply for retirement, you can do it conveniently and easily at www.socialsecurity.gov/retireonline.
Question: My spouse and I have been married for over 30 years and we are about to retire. Will there be any reduction in benefits because we are married?
Answer: None at all. We calculate lifetime earnings independently to determine each spouse’s Social Security benefit amount, and couples are not penalized because they are married. When both spouses meet all other eligibility requirements to receive Social Security retirement benefits, each spouse receives a monthly benefit amount based on his or her own earnings. If one member of the couple earned low wages or failed to earn enough Social Security credits to be insured for retirement benefits, he or she may be eligible to receive benefits as a spouse. Learn more about earning Social Security credits by reading our publication, How You Earn Credits, at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs.
