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>> Do you know how much money
you might need in retirement,
and if you do,
do you know where
it's coming from?
If you answered "no" to
either of these questions,
you're not alone.
Concerns about retirement
top the list of financial
worries among many Americans.
Hi, I'm Kojuan Almond from the
Social Security Administration,
and April is Financial
Literacy Month.
Now is a perfect time to see if
you're on track with your
retirement plans and to secure
your financial future.
Social Security provides
a foundation to build a
secure retirement,
but it was never intended
to be your only source of
income when you stop work.
Most financial experts say
you'll need about 70 to 80% of
your preretirement income to
have a comfortable retirement.
Since Social Security replaces
only about 40% of preretirement
income for the average worker,
it's important to have
pensions, savings,
and other investments
to live on.
And now,
because we're healthier
and living longer lives,
we can expect to spend more
time in retirement than our
parents and grandparents.
So planning ahead is the key to
achieving the dream of a secure,
comfortable retirement.
I'm here today to tell you about
how Social Security can help you
plan for your financial future.
We have lots of information and
planning tools on our website at
www.socialsecurity.gov.
One of these tools is the Online
Social Security Statement.
Your online statement is a
concise, easy to read,
personal record of the Social
Security taxes you've paid,
and it provides a summary of the
estimated retirement,
disability, and survivors
benefits you and your family
could receive.
To get your statement online,
all you have to do is create a
"my Social Security account" by
going to our website at
www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount
Once you've established
an account,
you can securely view your
online statement at any time.
Now, deciding when to retire is
one of the most important and
difficult decisions we face.
The retirement estimator,
located at
www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator
provides an immediate and
personalized benefit estimate
based on your earnings record.
The retirement estimator also
allows you to compare different
retirement options to
help you make an informed
retirement decision.
We also have a Spanish version
of the estimator available at
www.segurosocial.gov
When you're considering
when to retire,
one important factor to
think about is how long
you might live.
Most people underestimate
their life expectancy.
So, Social Security offers a
life expectancy calculator on
our website that can help
you factor that in.
You can find it at
www.socialsecurity.gov/planners/
lifeexpectancy.htm
Please keep in mind when you're
trying to determine when to
retire that there is no
universal "best age" that
applies to everyone.
Ultimately, it's a personal
decision based on what works
best for you and your family.
There are so many things to
consider and important decisions
to make when you're planning
your financial future.
That's why I encourage you to
use our online retirement
planning tools,
because it's never too late or
too early to start planning
for your retirement.
Now, when you decide that
you're ready to apply for
retirement benefits,
Social Security offers an online
retirement application
that's so easy to use,
and you can find that at
socialsecurity.gov/applyonline
Thanks for celebrating Financial
Literacy Month with me.
As my grandmother used to say,
"The time is now to plan your
work and work your plan."