Tight money has again led the Social Security Administration to halt the mailing of all paper statements of earnings and benefits to millions of Americans. These are the handy documents that give you an idea of what to expect in terms of Social Security retirement or disability income.
The latest suspension, which took effect Oct. 1, results from the “overall budget situation,” including a stop-gap continuing resolution that will leave the agency at last year’s funding levels through March, spokeswoman Kia Anderson said.
SSA officials had originally suspended mailing paper statements in April 2011 to save $70 million annually. This February, however, they had resumed mailings to people aged 60 or older and in July, to participants in the year they turned 25.
An end to the latest suspension hinges on the agency’s final funding level for this fiscal year, Anderson said. The agency also introduced an online statement in May available for people with access to the Internet.
3 Comments
SSA should reevaluate the necessity of mailing paper statements. Sending one to people over sixty seems reasonable. Employers should post a link to the SSA web site so that employees can look up an electronic statement and provide an address employees can request a paper copy if necessary. This is another area in which millions can be saved. Every little bit helps.
They mailed me my statement in September and I not close to 60 and way older then 25.
If you ask me, SSA should stop mailing them out for good. The same information is available online in the same format that people receive in the mail. They should only be mailed in very rare instances.