By Brandon Smith, Social Security Administration, Cleveland, public affairs specialist
In March, our nation celebrates Women’s History Month. Today, more women work, pay Social Security taxes, and earn credit toward monthly retirement income than at any other time in our nation’s history.
Social Security has served a vital role in the lives of women for over 80 years. With longer life expectancies than men, women tend to live more years in retirement and have a greater chance of exhausting other sources of income. With the national average life expectancy for women in the United States rising, many women have decades to enjoy retirement. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a female born today can expect to live more than 80 years. Women need to plan early and wisely for retirement.
Our benefits planner website at www.ssa.gov/planners provides detailed information about how marriage, widowhood, divorce, self-employment, government service, and other life or career events can affect your Social Security benefit.
We base your benefits on your earnings, so we encourage you to create your personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount and review your earnings to ensure they are correct. If you find an error, gather proof of your earnings, such as a W-2 form, a tax return, a wage stub or payslip, or your own wage records, and contact us. Read our publication How to Correct Your Social Security Earnings Record at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10081.pdf for more information.
Would you like to learn more about how we support women? Check out our online booklet, Social Security: What Every Woman Should Know. You can find it at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10127.pdf. Sharing it with family and friends could change their lives for the better.
