Social Security to stop mailed earning statements

Associated Press

Posted on April 8, 2011 at 1:00 AM

Updated today at 1:04 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — Social Security is going to stop mailing workers those yearly statements that say — here's what you'd get if you retired at 62, 66, or 70.

The agency is trying to save money so it's making the information accessible on its website.

Social Security is hoping to make the transition by the end of the year. But Commissioner Michael Astrue says there are still some security issues to work out, so workers may have another year of mailed statements. He says those paper statements cost $70 million a year to mail.

The statements are sent to 150 million people each year and project future benefit payments. Some advocates note that not all people have access to computers or the internet.

The decision to suspend the mailings is related to Social Security's operating budget not the talk of a possible partial government shutdown.

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