Remember the year you couldn’t even find a babysitting job and cashed out all your savings bonds just to afford groceries and beer? The U.S. Social Security Administration does, and now all of your past earning info and more is online, ready and waiting for you to walk down memory lane or prepare for your future.

Unless you’ve just turned 25, or are 60 or older, you won’t be receiving your Social Security statements in paper form in the mail. The new online tool allows citizens to create an account and then have access to their past earning record, as well as estimated benefits at retirement.

Also included:

• Estimates of the retirement and disability benefits you may receive;

• Estimates of benefits your family may get when you receive Social Security or die;

• A list of your lifetime earnings according to Social Security’s records;

• The estimated Social Security and Medicare taxes you’ve paid;

• Information about qualifying and signing up for Medicare;

• Things to consider for those age 55 and older who are thinking of retiring;

• General information about Social Security for everyone;

• The opportunity to apply online for retirement and disability benefits;

• and A printable version of your Social Security Statement.

I’m all signed up, and am even more depressed that I spent all that time working at a cinema grill in the summers for such a pittance. The smell of fry grease and the soundtrack to Chicken Run still haunt me.

Get Your Social Security Statement Online [SocialSecurity.gov]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.