The Social Security Administration has quietly rolled out a redesigned Social Security statement to selected account users not currently receiving benefits.
The revised statement, which has been reduced from four to two pages, was based on extensive research, according to agency spokesman Darren Lutz. “It aims to streamline and clarify the messaging and make it easier to find key information at a glance,” he said in an emailed statement.
The new statement, launched May 1, spells out the estimated monthly benefits a beneficiary will get if you start receiving benefits for each age from 62 to70, rather than just for ages 62, 67 and 70. The information is spelled out in the form of a bar chart.
Lutz explained that the “soft launch” is a first step of the redesigned statement to a small percentage of “my Social Security” account users not currently receiving benefits. He added that earlier this year, the agency published nine supplemental fact sheets online that further amplified certain messages customized to a person’s age and earnings situation.
The redesigned statement was first reported by ThinkAdvisor who followed up on a tweet more than a week ago from Jeffrey Levine, chief planning officer at Buckingham Wealth Partners, showing two pages of a redacted version of the redesigned statement that he received, and asking, “When did this happen?”
Based on responses to his tweets, no one else had received the new statement, but the reactions were positive.
Lutz said throughout the soft launch, the agency will continue to gather feedback and make updates as needed.
“The Social Security Statement is one of the most valuable and effective tools a person can use to learn about their earnings and future Social Security benefits. It is a very high agency priority to educate people in clear and plain terms about Social Security’s programs and services, and about their potential future benefits and current earnings record,” Lutz said in the emailed statement.