Are you planning to "clock out" of the workforce once and for all in January 2009? Generally, you should apply for your Social Security retirement benefits three months before you'd like them to start. So now's the time to apply for retirement benefits to beat the rush—and you can do it online. Applying online is a convenient and secure way to apply for your benefits.

Not only can you apply for retirement benefits online at www.socialsecurity.gov/, you can use several tools to help you estimate your monthly benefit. Visit our online Retirement Estimator at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator or use one of our other online benefit calculators.

Although applying for benefits online is convenient, choosing when to begin receiving your benefits can be complicated. Remember, you can get a reduced Social Security retirement benefit as early as age 62, wait until your full retirement age (66 for people born between 1943 and 1954), or increase the amount of your benefit by working as late as age 70. To assist you, Social Security has created an online publication, "When To Start Receiving Retirement Benefits", at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10147.html. This publication explains the factors to consider before deciding when to collect benefits.

Regardless of when you retire, you become eligible for Medicare at age 65.

Meanwhile keep an eye out for updates and improvements that soon will make applying for benefits online even faster and easier.

Get started with your retirement by visiting www.socialsecurity.gov/.

Ginny Jordan is a Public Affairs Specialist for the Social Security Administration. Her weekly column on all things Social Security appears in the Sunday Edition of the Sun-Sentinel.

Ginny has agreed to let us reprint her articles here for your convenience.

Thank you Ginny!