Statement of Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security

Monday, May 7, 2012 Press Office For Immediate Release 410-965-8904 press.office@ssa.gov Statement of Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, on the Initial Success of the New Online Social Security Statement I am pleased with the public’s initial response to our new online Social Security Statement. Since our May 1 launch, more than 130,000 people have successfully created an online account to access their Statement information, with the first 100,000 coming online in less than three days. Our new online Statement is simple and easy-to-use, and the initial satisfaction scores from users prove it. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, users are giving the online Statement a score of 89, making it competitive with our other top-rated, best-in-government online services. The online Statement is a very useful financial planning tool. It provides estimates for retirement, disability and survivors benefits. It also provides workers a convenient way to determine whether their earnings are accurately posted to their Social Security records. This feature is important because Social Security benefits are based on average earnings over a person’s lifetime. Now people as young as 18 can access their Statement for the first time, as well as find links to important information and online services. People should get in the habit of checking their online Statement each year -- around their birthday, for example. To learn more about it, or to try it yourself, please go to www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement.