50+ Lifestyles

YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY | Davenport, Iowa Office

By Pam Shaw
Social Security District Manager
Davenport Social Security Office

CELEBRATING A MILESTONE FOR MY SOCIAL SECURITY

We are excited to celebrate a significant milestone for my Social Security: 60 million registrations! We thank each of you who took the time to create a personal my Social Security account – and encouraged others to do the same. We keep improving our online services to make doing business with us easier, faster, and more accessible.

If you are receiving benefits, you can use your personal my Social Security account, to:

• Change your address and direct deposit information.
• Get proof of your benefits.
• Request replacement documents, like a Medicare card.

If you aren’t currently receiving benefits, you can:

• Check your earnings record.
• Get estimates of your future benefits.
• View your Social Security Statement.

In most states, you can also request a replacement Social Security card online, although often you only need to know your Social Security number and you do not need the physical card. See everything you can do with a personal my Social Security account, and open one today at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

Please help us share this information about my Social Security with friends and family. You can also post it on social media to help us spread the word.

UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL SECURITY SPOUSES’ BENEFITS

Did you know your spouse’s benefit amount could be up to 50% of your spouse’s full retirement age benefit amount? If you qualify for a retirement benefit from your own work history and a spouse’s record, we always pay your own benefit first. You cannot receive spouse’s benefits unless your spouse is receiving their retirement benefits (except for divorced spouses).

If you receive your retirement benefit before your full retirement age, while waiting for your spouse to reach full retirement age, your own retirement portion will be reduced. When you add your spouse’s benefits later, the total retirement and spouse’s benefit together will be no more than 50% of the worker’s amount. You can find out more about this at www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/applying7.html.

Knowing about these benefits can help you plan your financial future. Access a wealth of useful information on our retirement portal at www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement.