When people begin approaching their fifties and sixties, it becomes necessary to begin making more intense financial plans for the future. Part of these plans include planning for retirement and learning about social security benefits, procedures and options. Spousal benefits, Medicare benefits and social security retirement funds are all distributed through social security offices. Visiting the online social security site and going to visit the office in person will provide people with the proper guidelines needed in order to begin the process of filling out applications and learning when they need to take action in regard to receiving their benefits. Before visiting the social security office, it is necessary to call and make an appointment. People can simply show up at their local social security office. However, walk-ins are usually reserved for people who need to file for a lost social security card and other similar occurrences. To sit down and speak to a representative of the office, calling in advance and scheduling an appointment to discuss retirement funds, spouse benefits or other financial claims will help to make the procedure go more smoothly. In addition to making plans to visit the social security office, there are multiple other steps people can take to help plan for their retirement years. Planning for retirement in advance is a solid investment to a financial future. Many people are unsure where to begin other than visiting their local social security office to discover what type of government benefits will be available to them. While the benefits do come from the government, social security benefits are earned benefits that are due to a person. Retirement savings plans and 401K options are other helpful things to have well in advance. This will help to create a nest egg and a retirement fund that can be drastically beneficial during a person's golden years. Speaking with a financial planner and discussing options that will help a person to pad his or her retirement fund to supplement social security money is always a wise idea.