Social Security Benefits Calculator Update

Earlier on this blog, I discussed how the Social Security Administration added a benefits calculator to its website called The Retirement Estimator.  This program produces estimates that are based on the user’s actual Social Security earnings record.  In other words, after providing your Social Security number, birth date, place of birth, and mother’s maiden name, the site accesses your records to make the estimates.

There are, however, some limitations of the Estimator.  For example, if a person is already receiving Medicare, even though still working, the Estimator will not produce an estimate of Social Security benefits.

This and other issues are slated to be fixed in future versions of the Estimator.

See Karen Damato, Encore, Wall St. J., Oct. 18, 2008.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.