NEW YORK (AP) – Many Americans use the start of daylight savings time as a reminder not only to set their clocks ahead but also to change the batteries in their smoke alarm.

Now there’s a new program promoting a link in their finances.

The Social Security Administration has teamed with the nonprofit American Savings Education Council to create a “save for your future” campaign that is tied to the personalized Social Security statement that American workers receive every year about three months before their birthdays.

The campaign aims at getting Americans to look closely at that statement to make sure it’s correct and get an idea of what Social Security benefits they’ll qualify for when they retire. The campaign organizers hope receipt of the statement also will prompt consumers to review their finances so they can step up their own savings for retirement.

“If you are doing it right, you will be giving yourself the best birthday present you can receive, which is financial security,” ASEC president Don Blandin said.

Beatrice M. Disman, New York regional commissioner for the Social Security Administration, said the message was simple: Social Security is the safety net for retirees, but won’t fully cover their financial needs.

“As America ages … the most important long-term issue for all of us is helping people prepare for retirement,” she said.

The campaign – which has more opening events scheduled in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle – calls for a four-step approach:

• Calculate how much money you will need for retirement

• Plan how to accumulate that amount

• Act to implement your savings plan

• Reassess every year after you get your Social Security statement.

Families can get a copy of the campaign’s booklet “How to Save for Your Future” at the Web site www.saveforyourfuture.org. The site has a number of calculators, including the “ballpark estimate” that allows a family to determine how much it needs to save to fund a comfortable retirement.

The booklet also will be available at Social Security offices and through agents of State Farm Insurance, which is helping to underwrite the national campaign.

Blandin noted that experts recommend that families aim for a retirement basket of Social Security, pension benefits and savings that would provide the equivalent of about 70 percent of preretirement income.

And they shouldn’t be put off if they don’t have a lot of money.

“It’s a challenge when people feel they are struggling, going from paycheck to paycheck,” Blandin said. “They think that if they can save only $5 a week, it won’t make a difference. … But even small amounts of money over time will add up.”

Blandin said families can include saving for a first home or for college educations for their children as part of their financial planning.

“Developing a plan is the key,” he said. “We’ve consistently found that people with a financial goal are more disciplined in saving for their future.”

Disman, the regional Social Security commissioner, said a major target group of the campaign are the millions of workers who haven’t yet started to save for retirement. Even savers, she warned, have to consider that “the average (person) will live about 20 years in retirement, and many will double that.”

Workers who haven’t received an annual statement can request one at the Social Security Web site, www.socialsecurity.gov, or by calling 800-772-1213.

AP-ES-05-21-03 1654EDT

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