How to estimate your SSI without the annual mailing

estimate your social security benefits with the SSi quick calculator

Have you ever wondered how to estimate your Social Security benefits?

In the video below, I walk you through how to get a quick estimate of your Social Security benefits.

We used to get a mailing from SSA every year which would tell you your estimated benefits. Because of a paper reduction initiative, SSA no longer sends you the estimate. Now, it is up to us to go online and check for ourselves. Most people may only want a quick estimate.

This video shows you the quick calculator. In a subsequent video, I will show you more detailed options. These more detailed options take more time. In the first instance, you must enter your annual employment income for your working years. Alternatively, you must register with the SSA and sign in to your account. If you would rather not do either of these, you can use the quick calculator on the SSA website to get an estimate of your benefits.

One of the key points that I want you to take away from this video is the following: deciding when to retire and when to claim social security are two separate decisions.

You do not have to claim social security just because you have decided to retire.

You may have retired because you are sick of working or must take care of your spouse or partner full-time.

In addition, just because one spouse has retired and/or claimed their Social Security benefits, does not mean necessarily that the other spouse should either retire or claim their Social Security benefits.

Deciding when you will claim social security can be a separate decision - especially if you have other resources that you can rely on in the interim.

Social Security optimization has the potential to add hundreds of thousands of dollars to your retirement portfolio. This is a topic we will cover in later posts and videos.