Does the Social Security “Statement” Add Value?

The brief’s key findings are:

• To help workers better plan for retirement, the Social Security Administration provides a Statement with personalized benefit estimates.

• Surveys have explored how workers view the Statement, and research studies have examined its effectiveness.

• The results indicate that workers generally consider the Statement a valuable resource, and it improves their benefit knowledge.

• At the same time, studies have not found any effect on workers’ Social Security claiming behavior.