By Nikitia Johnson, Social Security Public Affairs Specialist
Planning to retire in early 2011? It may already be time to apply.
Applying for benefits is easier than you think. Especially if you do it online at
www.socialsecurity.gov. The Social Security website makes the process easy and convenient.
Just logon to your computer and visit our website at
www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline. You can apply online for your retirement benefits from the comfort of your home or office. It can take as little as 15 minutes.
In most cases, once your application is submitted electronically, you’re done. There are no forms to sign and usually no documentation is required. Social Security will process your application and contact you if any further information is needed.
Regardless of when you plan to retire, you should consider doing it about three months ahead of time. Then you’ll know that your payments will make it to you on time.
If you are not quite ready to retire but are thinking about doing so in the near future, you may want to visit Social Security’s website to use our convenient and informative retirement planner at
www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2. Here you can find out just how close you are to meeting your financial goals and then “bookmark” the website to file for retirement benefits when you are ready. From there, you can use our Retirement Estimator to get an instant, personalized estimate of your retirement benefits.
Remember that you’re always first in line when you go online. Learn more about Social Security by visiting our website at
www.socialsecurity.gov.
