How to Find Out How Much Social Security Benefits You’ll Get
I guess your social security income is an important part of preparing for retirement. It’s important to know exactly how much money you will receive in your account social security check every month. The good news is, it’s easy to find out using the Social Security Administration’s free online tool.
this My Social Security Portal If you want to make adjustments or want to obtain documents related to your taxes and other important information, this is your one-stop shop for everything you need to know about your benefits.
Below, we’ll show you how to sign up, check your eligibility for benefits, and estimate your potential monthly payments. For everything you need to know about Social Security, check out our Social Security and SSDI Cheat Sheet.
How do I estimate my Social Security benefits?
To view all of your Social Security benefits, you need to register for a My Social Security account. Please note that if you have already registered with login.gov or ID.me accountyou can skip the following steps and log in directly to your account. If you’ve never signed up for these services before, here’s what you need to do.
- Go to login.gov registration page.
- Click create an account tab and enter your email and your preferred language and click submit.
- You will be prompted on the next screen to verify your email address. You can also request a verification email be resent or change your email address.
- Check your email and find Confirm your email From login.gov. Click the Confirm Email Address button to return to the website.
- Now create a password for your account. The password must contain at least 12 characters.
- Next, you need to set up two-factor authentication. You can use an authenticator app, text message or phone call, backup code, physical security key, or government employee ID. Follow the steps to set up the authentication method of your choice and click Continue.
- Now that your login.gov account is created, you can use it to Log in to the My Social Security portal.
The next few steps will link your login.gov account to the My Social Security portal, where you will accept the Terms of Service and enter your details to confirm your identity.
How to find your Social Security eligibility and income
Once you complete the setup process, you will have access to the My Social Security dashboard. But before you can start estimating your monthly benefits, you first need to make sure you qualify for benefits.
The Social Security Administration determines your eligibility based on the number of “work credits” you have. To qualify for Social Security benefits, you generally need 40 work credits, and you can earn up to 4 work credits per work year. Work points are earned throughout your working life, so if you don’t have 40 points, you won’t be able to estimate your monthly benefits until you earn 40 points.
Another important part of this section is the ability to view your complete earnings history. It will show you all the years you worked, along with your taxable income for each year.
It’s a good idea to take a moment to review your annual tax return to confirm that the numbers are correct. If your record is missing the year you worked or your earnings for a specific time period are incorrect, you may not receive all the benefits to which you are entitled. If you discover a discrepancy, you may request a correction to your record.
How to estimate your monthly Social Security check
Just below the Eligibility and Earnings section of the dashboard is the Retirement Calculator. The calculator gives you details of your expected monthly benefits based on whether you retire early at age 62, start receiving benefits at normal retirement age (67 for those born in 1960 or later), or wait to collect the maximum payment amount when you Upon reaching 70 years of age. If you decide to take benefits early, you will receive less than you would have received had you waited until normal retirement age.
Using a calculator, you can easily run different benefit options to see how much you can expect to receive each month based on the age you start receiving benefits. You can fine-tune your retirement age or date, your average future salary, and compare your benefits to your spouse’s. Any adjustments you make in the calculator are automatically added to the estimate table shown below so you can easily print or save the information.
What else can you do with your My Social Security account?
In addition to checking your benefits, you can process other requests through your account.
- Replace your Social Security card.
- View or print your benefits verification letter.
- Start or check the status of your retirement application.
- Start or check your status Social Security Disability Insurance Application.
- If you are currently employed and receiving SSDI, please report wages.
- Calculate benefits for a current or former spouse.
If you want to know more about social security information, don’t miss it Why 70,000 people lose Social Security benefits every year and our Social Security and SSDI Cheat Sheet.
