The annual statements outlining your projected Social Security earnings may be a thing of the past.
Citing budget restraints, the administration stopped mailing the statements this month. The four-page letters, which were sent to 158 million Americans last year, cost taxpayers $70 million a year to print and mail. The move will save taxpayers $30 million this year and $60 million in 2012.
The statements are mailed three months before your birthday, so if you were born in July or later, you can stop checking your mailbox. Workers can still get an estimate of their retirement benefits using the administration's online Retirement Estimator, or they can call 800-772-1213.
The suspension of mailings might not be permanent. In a few months the administration will decide whether to provide the information online or return to issuing paper statements, said Dorothy Clark, a spokeswoman for the agency.
The agency is undergoing severe budget belt-tightening, while at the same time working hard to reduce its backlog of disability hearings, said Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue, when he announced the change last month during Congressional testimony (.pdf file). The agency is struggling to close more than 106,000 cases that will be 775 days or older by the end of the year
"That wait has very real implications — many people with disabilities lose their homes, medical coverage and dignity while waiting for a decision on a hearing," Astrue said. "We may not be able to keep our commitments to the American people because we do not have the necessary funding."