Getting a personalized online estimate of your future Social Security retirement benefits is now easier than ever before thanks to the launch of the new Retirement Estimator at www.socialsecurity.gov.

The Retirement Estimator is a planning tool that allows you to get an immediate and personalized estimate of your potential Social Security retirement benefit.

Visit www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator. To get an estimate, you’ll need to enter your first and last name, date of birth, Social Security number, mother’s maiden name and place of birth. If the information matches Social Security’s records, the Retirement Estimator combines this information with the information that Social Security has on record, including your yearly earnings, to provide a quick and reliable online benefit estimate.

The Retirement Estimator is convenient. Since it is tied to your actual Social Security earnings record, there is no need to manually enter years of earnings information. The Retirement Estimator is also interactive, allowing you to compare different retirement options by changing your “stop work” dates or expected earnings.

The Retirement Estimator is secure. To protect your privacy, only your benefit estimates are provided online. The Retirement Estimator does not reveal any personal information, such as your address, earnings or other information.

When you visit Social Security’s website at www.socialsecurity.gov to see the new Retirement Estimator, take a few minutes to become familiar with the many other online services – including applying online for Social Security retirement and disability benefits.