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Social Security and Women’s History Month

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In March, our nation celebrates Women’s History Month. Today, more women work, pay Social Security taxes, and earn credit toward monthly retirement income than at any other time in our nation’s history. Social Security has served a vital role in the lives of women for over 80 years.

With longer life expectancies than men, women tend to live more years in retirement and have a greater chance of exhausting other sources of income. With the national average life expectancy for women in the United States rising, many women have decades to enjoy retirement. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a female born today can expect to live more than 80 years. Women need to plan early and wisely for retirement.

Our benefits planner website at www.ssa.gov/planners provides detailed information about how marriage, widowhood, divorce, self-employment, government service, and other life or career events can affect your Social Security benefit. 

We base your benefits on your earnings, so we encourage you to create your personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount and review your earnings to ensure they are correct. If you find an error, gather proof of your earnings, such as a W-2 form, a tax return, a wage stub or pay slip, or your own wage records and contact us. Read our publication How to Correct Your Social Security Earnings Record at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10081.pdf for more information. 

Would you like to learn more about how we support women? Check out our online booklet, “Social Security: What Every Woman Should Know.” You can find it at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10127.pdf. Sharing it with family and friends could change their lives for the better.

Social Security benefits are part of the retirement plan of almost every American worker. If you’re among the people covered under Social Security, you need to know how much you might receive from us when you begin receiving benefits. These monthly payments may be a vital part of your retirement income.

We base your benefit payment on how much you earned during your working career. Higher lifetime earnings result in higher benefits. If there were some years you didn’t work or had low earnings, your benefit amount may be lower than if you had worked steadily. Even if you have never worked under Social Security, you may be able to get spouse’s retirement benefits if you are at least 62 years of age and your spouse receives retirement or disability benefits.

Our online retirement planners are a great place to start mapping out your retirement plan. You can access them at www.ssa.gov/planners/retire.

We provide important information that you should know. Have you considered: 

  • When you should apply for retirement?
  • What documents you need to provide?
  • Which factors may affect your retirement benefits?
  • What you should remember to do after you retire?

You can use our retirement calculator at www.ssa.gov/myaccount to get an instant estimate of your future retirement benefits and to see the effects of different retirement age scenarios.

On our website, you’ll also find our retirement estimator. It gives estimates based on your actual Social Security earnings record. Please keep in mind that these are just estimates. You can access the retirement estimator at www.ssa.gov/estimator.

Once you know your estimated retirement benefits, you can start coordinating other parts of your retirement plan. Saving money is also important. It’s never too early to begin saving, and doing so can help you live more comfortably when you stop working.

Benefits for family members may also be important to you. When you start receiving Social Security retirement benefits, members of your family may also qualify to receive benefits on your record. You can learn more at www.ssa.gov/benefits. Please share this information with family and friends to help them prepare for retirement.

Editor's note: Chris Burke is a Social Security district manager based in Glendale.