MONEY OBEDIENCE

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The term "social security" often refers to social security payments provided by the federal government. The government administers a system in which it collects money via social security taxes and then distributes this money to members of our society who qualify for such payments. To qualify, normally one must be retired, disabled, or the dependent of somebody who is retired, is disabled, or has died. Also, a person who has been married for more than 10 years and then divorced can collect benefits related to the former spouse's social security benefits.

These payments are designed to avoid extreme hardship. They are not designed to provide each member with a comfortable retirement. So, most people these days try to have more of a safety net than social security alone will provide. Nevertheless, when planning your retirement it is legitimate to take into account the future social security retirement benefits in your plan so that you know how much additional money you will need in order to have the comfort you desire in retirement.

You should receive statements about 3 months before your birthday each year outlining your lifetime's earnings and an estimate of the social security benefits you may receive. You can also get a fairly good estimate of your future social security payments on the U.S. government's Social Security Service's website at www.ssa.gov. There you will have various options to estimate the social security income you will receive at your retirement. Since the accuracy of the estimate this site gives you depends on the data you enter, the more time you spend selecting options and entering data, the more accurate the estimate you get will be.