Wednesday, January 11, 2017 11:15 am

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Consumers for Paper Options, a coalition advocating for access to important paper-based services and information, has expressed strong opposition to a new decision by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to suspend the mailing of Social Security Statements to workers under the age of 60. The move comes despite a measure in the Fiscal Year 2014 funding bill requiring the Social Security Administration to "significantly restore" the mailing of earnings statements. In response to Congress' 2014 directive, the agency resumed mailing a statement every five years to every American ages 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 who has not signed up for online statements.

"Social Security earnings statements have been described as the most important financial planning tool that the majority of Americans will ever see, and the Social Security Administration just took them away again without any debate or discussion," said John Runyan, executive director of Consumers for Paper Options. "While earnings statements are currently available online, wage-earners must first create an account and provide sensitive personal information before being granted access. This presents a significant burden for the one-third of Americans without internet access, as well as those with cybersecurity concerns."

Runyan continued, "We are hopeful that the next Administration will stand up for the millions of Americans who have no intention or ability to go online and see what the government has planned for their hard-earned contributions to Social Security."

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