What's on Your Social Security Statement?

Andy Markowitz and Phil Pruitt,

AARP

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Published March 07, 2025

Your Social Security statement is a one-stop shop for key information about your earnings history and benefits.

The two-page personalized report gives you an illustrated, segmented breakdown of what you’ve paid in Social Security taxes. It also lays out what you can expect to receive in the future, or if you already get a monthly payment, how your benefits have been calculated.

How do I get my Social Security statement?

About 92.5 million people can access their statement any time online via their My Social Security account, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

In the federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2024, paper copies were mailed automatically to about 14 million people age 60 and older who don’t receive benefits and don’t have My Social Security accounts. If you’re in that group, expect your statement in the mail three months before your birthday.

What’s included if I'm not receiving benefits?

If you aren’t receiving benefits already, the first page has estimates for retirement, disability and survivor benefits in a bar chart and a set of gray boxes with red titles.

The prominently featured bar chart shows your projected monthly retirement benefits, based on past and current income, if you file at any age from 62 to 70. The statement also estimates your disability benefit if you are unable to work for an extended period and what your spouse and children could receive if you die.

The second page includes a table laying out your lifetime earnings that were subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes, an accounting of how much you’ve paid in those taxes, and bullet points on benefit calculations and eligibility.

What’s included if I'm receiving benefits?

If you’re getting benefits, no bar chart with projections is included. But the statement provides information on how benefits are calculated, plus your personalized table showing your lifetime earnings and a breakdown of taxes paid.

What’s the history of Social Security statements?

In October 1999, SSA began mailing the reports to help future Social Security beneficiaries with their retirement planning. Initially, the information was mailed every year to millions of workers 25 and older who were not yet receiving benefits.

Before that, the only way to find out about your benefits was to call the SSA or visit a field office and fill out a form. Weeks later you would receive your information in the mail.

That also was the only way to find out if your earnings record had any errors. Then you could start the process of assembling old W-2 forms and pay stubs to contest the information.

By the early 2010s, the SSA began phasing out paper statements to save money and focused on providing online information and services.

Keep in mind

An online My Social Security account allows you to view, save and print an up-to-date version of your statement at any time. You also can access SSA fact sheets on benefit basics, available in English or Spanish and tailored for different age groups.
To receive your Social Security statement by mail, print and complete a Request For Social Security Statement, Form SSA-7004 and mail it to the address on the form. You should receive your paper statement in the mail in four to six weeks.

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Andy Markowitz is an AARP senior writer and editor covering Social Security and retirement. He is a former editor of the Prague Post and Baltimore City Paper.

Phil Pruitt is an AARP writer and editor focusing on Social Security. He is a former editor at Scripps News and Yahoo News and was on the start-up staff at USA Today, where he held numerous editing positions.