The Social Security Administration unveiled the retirement estimator on its Web site yesterday. On it, with just a few points and clicks and some personal information, a user can produce benefit estimates within a few minutes.

The new calculator will be followed this fall by an updated online application for benefits that Social Security Administrator Michael Astrue promises will reduce application time from the current 45-minute process to 15 minutes - and eliminate the need for follow-up visits to agency field offices.

"These initiatives will help us better handle the baby-boomer wave and make it easier for the public to do business with us online," Astrue said.

Currently, workers get an annual benefit estimate mailed to them. It's based on prior earnings, but assumes people's salary stays the same until retirement age. The online calculator supplements the annual mailing, but won't replace it.

The calculator permits future retirees to create a more accurate estimate of benefits, since people can factor in a higher estimate of their upcoming earnings. People can also factor in alternatives for retirement ages.

The calculator replaces a laborious online calculator that required people to type in their earnings history, which can involve guesswork for people who don't keep voluminous records. The new version uses the Social Security database to provide accurate earnings information, though the calculator requests the most recent year of earnings since there's a lag in getting salary information into the Social Security database.

The closer a person is to retirement, the more accurate the calculator is likely to be.

Even so, Social Security benefits are likely to be at least somewhat curbed in future years as Congress shores up the system to prepare for the retirement of millions of baby boomers. Social Security now runs a surplus and is expected to do so until 2017, when the agency will have to start cashing in special Treasury notes to help pay benefits.

Astrue said yesterday that the agency had taken steps to make sure people's personal information wouldn't be divulged.

The calculator is available at http://ssa.gov/estimator.