Issue 19.17
One of the greatest gifts you can give a grandchild is the gift of financial literacy. Helping them save money early in life and showing them how to make wise spending decisions goes a long way toward a bright financial future. As they get older, they may want to save for special purchases or their college education. You can encourage them when they get their first job to begin saving for the future, including their retirement.
Planning for the Future with my Social Security
When you celebrate their graduation from high school, you can also remind them to set up a “my Social Security” account. They need to be age 18 or older, have a U. S. mailing address and a valid email address, and have a Social Security number. And while their retirement is many years away, you can explain the importance of reviewing their earnings record each year since Social Security uses the record of earnings to compute their future benefits. As they start their first major job and begin saving, they’ll be able to monitor the growth of the estimates of benefits available to them. You can access my Social Security at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount<https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/?utm_source=mip0517&utm_medium=online-media&utm_campaign=ocomm-mip-fy17&utm_content=what-can-you-teach-your-grandchild-about-social-security>.