THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION BEGINS ANNUAL MAILINGS OF INDIVIDUALIZED SOCIAL SECURITY STATEMENTS TO

                    MILLIONS OF  WORKING AMERICANS                    
                           October 1, 1999                            

Today, President Clinton Will Announce that the Social Security Administration Will Begin Mailing Statements to 125 Million Workers Over the Age of 25, Informing them of Their Estimated Future Benefits. Starting today, the Social Security Administration will launch the largest customized mailing ever undertaken by a federal agency when it begins to mail individualized Social Security Statements to all workers age 25 and older (roughly 125 million) who are not already receiving monthly Social Security benefits.

• Helping Workers with Financial Planning. The four-page statement is designed to help workers with their financial planning by providing estimates of retirement, disability and survivors benefits that they and their family could be eligible to receive now and in the future.
• Ensuring Accuracy. The statement will also provide workers with an easy way to determine whether their earnings are accurately posted on their Social Security records. This is an important feature since Social Security benefits are based on an individual's career earnings record. Most workers pay into the Social Security system throughout their careers, and this will give them an opportunity to determine the resulting benefits.

The Statements Will Help Workers Better Understand what Their Social Security Benefits Mean to Them and Their Families. Workers are encouraged to use this important personal document to help them better plan their financial future. By using this tool, workers can better predict their financial needs when they retire, or if they become disabled or die and leave survivors. The Social Security Statements, required under laws enacted in 1989 and 1990, include:

• An estimate, under current law, of the monthly retirement benefit the worker would receive at age 62, at full retirement age, and at age 70.
• A projection, under current law, of the monthly disability benefit to which the worker and his or her family would be entitled if he or she became disabled.
• An estimate, under current law, of the monthly benefit the worker's family could receive if the worker dies.
• A year-by-year display of the worker's earnings and the total Social Security taxes paid by the worker and his or her employers over the worker's career.

The Administration Will Promote Public Service Announcements to Encourage Retirement Planning. Later this month, The Social Security Administration will release two new televised PSAs encouraging Americans to plan for their financial future using the new Social Security Statement. The spots will be sent to approximately 1,100 television stations across the country.

Social Security is a Foundation on Which to Build a More Secure Financial Future. Social Security provides millions of retired people with a rock-solid benefit they can rely upon. However, Social Security is more than just a retirement program; it provides important benefits to individuals and families if a worker dies or becomes disabled.

• While retired workers received 62 percent of the total benefits paid by Social Security in 1997, 38 percent of benefits paid provided income for disabled workers, widows, widowers, spouses and children.
• Social Security provides disability coverage for a worker with a family, the equivalent to about a $300,000 disability policy.
• Social Security survivors coverage protection is equivalent to a $300,000 life insurance policy.
• In addition, Social Security has reduced poverty for millions of Americans and their families. Currently, the poverty rate for elderly Americans is 10.5 percent. Without Social Security, the poverty rate for elderly beneficiaries would be nearly 50 percent.

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