Planning to retire in early 2011? It may already be time to apply for Social Security benefits.

Applying for benefits is easier than you think, especially if you do it online at www.socialsecurity.gov.

The Social Security website makes the process easy and convenient. Just logon to your computer and visit www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline. Website visitors can apply online for retirement benefits from the comfort of their home or office. The process can take as little as 15 minutes. In most cases, once an application is submitted electronically, you’re done. There are no forms to sign and usually no documentation is required. Social Security will process the application and contact you if any further information is needed.

Consider signing up about three months before retiring. Then you’ll know that your payments will make it to you on time. If you are not quite ready to retire but are thinking about doing so in the near future, you may want to visit Social Security’s website to use our convenient and informative retirement planner at www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2.

Here you can find out just how close you are to meeting your financial goals and then “bookmark” the website to file for retirement benefits when you are ready. From there, you can use our Retirement Estimator to get an instant, personalized estimate of your retirement benefits.

Remember that you’re always first in line when you go online.

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