The first page of the statement explains what follows in the Social Security statement. It states that it explains how much you would get in Social Security benefits when you reach retirement. The statement will also show how much you paid in Social Security and Medicare taxes. It provides a website to go to in case the reader finds an error. It also explains that, on average, Social Security will replace about 40 percent of the annual earnings prior to retirement.
The second page, the “Your Estimated Benefits” page, shows the following fields:
Retirement: It shows how much I’ll earn if I keep working at my current earnings rate at ages 67, 70, and 62. It seems the best deal would be to wait until age 67, but not age 70, because the monthly benefits are not that much higher at 70.
Disability: This portion shows how much I would get if I became disabled today at my current earnings rate.
Family Survivors: This portion shows how much my spouse and children would get if I die this year.
Medicare: This portion says that I would be eligible for Medicare and to be sure to enroll three months before my 65th birthday.
Calculation: The next portion shows the data the system used to calculate my benefits: my date of birth, my estimated income, and my Social Security number.
The third page gives detailed information about the calculation of my benefits and what assumptions the system made.
The fourth page shows my earnings record for the past eight years, including my taxed Social Security earnings and my taxed Medicare earnings.
The fourth page provides information about the Social Security program, including what Social Security pays for and how it’s different from Medicare. It gives information about the retirement age when I’m eligible to receive full benefits and what constitutes a disability. It also describes how my family can claim my benefits if I become disabled or die. The last page is like a newsletter that gives advice about retirement and the benefits of the Social Security program.
