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Estimating;
Social 3
Security %
Benefits I
By BRUCE A. HUNDLEY
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
The next time you ask Social Security to send you an estimate of the benefits you would receive at retirement, you will find the amount fig• ured in “today’s” dollars. Estimates prepared before September 1993 were projected in “fiiture” dollars using a one percent adjustment to take into account wage growth fpr each year up to age 62.
When Social Security first began issuing earning and benefit statements in 1988, the estimates fleeted the probable effects of con* tinued work and changes in the economy up to the time the worker reached retirement age. Social Secuc. rity is no longer adding the one per^ cent factor in order to make its retirement beneift estimates consist tent with benefit estimates prepared by most private and public pension planners. *
Your benefit estimate also wil5 include a yearly breakdown of you* earnings that have been reported to Social Security and an estimate of how much you have paid in Social Security taxes. It’s a good idea to re* quest a statement of your earnings at least every three.years so that you make sure that your earning^ are reported accureately.
The earnings information and benefit estimate is easy to obtain; Call Social Security’s toll-free num* ber, 1-800-772-1213 and ask fotf' S Form SSA-7004 (Request for earn? ings and Benefit Estimate Statement). You should receive the form in about 10 working days. lt will take about five minutes to com* plete the form. Mail it to Social Secuf rity in the envelope. that accompanies the form. « «
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