WSVN — For most of us, retirement can’t get here soon enough, but are you really saving enough to get to that someday? In tonight’s Dollars and Sense, Lynn Martinez shows you an easy way to track and manage your path to retirement.
Thousands of people reach retirement age every day, but not all of those people are financially ready for it.
Maria Diaz, Social Security Administration: “A lot of younger people tell me, ‘Well, I’m not worried about my social security. It’s so far for me to get to retirement.'”
Most people just assume they will live off of social security when they retire, but officials say that’s not a smart route to take.
Maria Diaz: “Social Security was never intended to be the sole income at retirement. When we tell them how much they’re going to receive, they look at me and they say, ‘Maria, I can’t live on that.'”
From the time you started that first job in high school until now, you’ve been paying into Social Security. How do you know how much you have?
Maria Diaz: “All our benefits in the future will be based on how much you worked. The more earnings you have, the higher the earnings you have during your lifetime, the higher your benefits will be in the future.”
Signing up is easy. Just go to the Social Security website, fill out some information, and all of your records will pop up. Not only is it a good way to keep your Social Security earnings on track, but you can use it to plan for changes along that trip and bumps in the road.
Maria Diaz: “There’s a lot of people that are starting a family and maybe are thinking, ‘Well, now I’m going to have a child. I need to buy a life insurance policy.’ It provides disability benefits, and it provides survivors benefits right up front.”
Creating your account is free, and it’s run by the U.S. Social Security Administration, so it’s secure, easy to navigate, helping you map out a safe route toward your future.
Maria Diaz: “Someday is here! It’s finally here. We want you to be ready today so that when those things happen, when retirement comes, you are ready.”
Create your account today!
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount/