One of the most crucial aspects of financial planning is knowing Social Security retirement benefit amounts.

An instant, personalized estimate of future retirement benefits is available online from the Social Security Administration’s website.

The retirement estimator at http://ssa.gov/estimator allows people to see how much they will receive monthly if they start taking benefits early (typically, at age 62), at the normal retirement age of 65 or 66, or later after age 70.

In most cases, monthly benefits are 75 percent higher for applicants older than 70.

The same website also allows applications for retirement, spousal, disability, Medicare benefits, and name changes after marriage.

Telling Social Security about a name change ensures that appropriate benefits will be provided. A name-change form can be obtained by calling (800) 772-1213.