When planning for retirement many people tend to believe that their Social Security benefits will be a good source of monthly income. In fact I read recently that almost 25% of Americans rely on Social Security for 90% of their family income. With an average benefit of roughly $1,300 a month that is not a lot of moolah. While $1,300 a month is nothing to dismiss, if this is your only income you are living near the national poverty line.
The thing is, I think most Americans are not aware of what their Social Security benefit will be. It is really easy to create an account with Social Security called My Social Security. You can sign in to see your withholdings over the course of your working life. It will also tell you what your benefits will be at different retirement ages.
This is great information to help you know what money will be there for you when you retire, or at least what the federal government is planning on having available for you. Then you can also determine how much more you need to save in order to live the retirement life that you want. This is information that you need to consider in your overall plan.
It also lets you keep tabs on your account and spot any potential errors that may occur. Just visit https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/ and sign up.
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