April is Financial Literacy Month, a time focused on educating people about the importance of planning for a secure financial future. Social Security is a vital part of any financial plan. We have online tools to help you understand your potential Social Security benefits and how they fit into your financial future.

You should periodically review your Social Security Statement with your personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount. Your Statement is an easy-to-read summary of the estimated benefits you and your family could receive, including potential retirement, disability, and survivors benefits.

Additionally, our Plan for Retirement tool in your My Social Security account allows you to run various benefit estimate scenarios. You can compare different future earnings and retirement benefit start dates for how they could affect your benefit amount.

Start improving your financial literacy today by logging in to your My Social Security account. If you don’t have an account, create one at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

Jeri Fields is the manager of the district Social Security office in Ironton.