A new Social Security statement that provides estimates of future benefits is available online at www.socialsecurity.gov.

“Our new online Social Security statement is simple, easy-to-use and provides people with estimates they can use to plan for their retirement,” said Michael J. Astrue, commissioner of Social Security. “The online statement also provides estimates for disability and survivors benefits, making the statement an important financial planning tool. People should get in the habit of checking their online statement each year, around their birthday, for example.”

In addition to helping with financial planning, the online statement helps determine whether their earnings are accurately posted to a worker’s Social Security records. Because Social Security benefits are based on average earnings over a person’s lifetime, the person may not receive proper benefits if the information is incorrect.

The online statement provides the opportunity to save or print the document for reference. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, users are giving the online statement a score of 89, making it competitive with other top-rated, best-in-government online services, such as the retirement estimator and online retirement application. The online statement includes links to information about other services, such as applications for retirement, disability and Medicare.

Those wanting a personalized online statement must be age 18 or older and be able to provide personal information that matches information on file. Additional verification will be required.

For more information, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement.