Social Security Administration launches online retirement calculator --But is it useful?

Those who have enough Social Security credits to qualify for benefits can now visit the Social Security Administration’s new online retirement calculator to view an estimate of retirement benefits and to view additional “what if” retirement scenarios based on current law.

The estimator, according to Social Security Administrator Michael Astrue, is supposed to be a faster, more convenient avenue for viewing an accurate estimate of Social Security benefits. But is it helpful?

“I’m impressed. It’s a wonderful tool. It brings some clarity to one of the key sources of income for people in retirement,” Stuart Ritter, a T. Rowe Price Associates financial planner tells Eileen Ambrose of the Baltimore Sun. “Knowing more about your Social Security benefits will help you plan better for what you need to be saving.”

Dallas Salisbury, president of the Employee Benefit Research Institute reviewed the calculator during its testing stages. He tells Ambrose, “The earlier in life, the better. These types of calculations early in life will allow people to begin saving small amounts early, and small amounts early add up to big amounts.”