As the nation’s most important social resource, Social Security provides financial support to millions of retired and disabled Americans. Disability benefits are granted if a medical chart review establishes that the applicant is indeed disabled according to the SSA (Social Security Administration)’s definition of disability. It is estimated that more than 63 million benefit checks are dispatched each month to beneficiaries. The SSA receives more than half of the total number of disability and retirement applications via the internet, as a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report points out. Internet-based communication is especially beneficial at a time when there are considerable cuts to the SSA’s administrative budget.
Given the increase in online transaction with the SSA, here is a list of the administration’s top websites.
- socialsecurity.gov/myaccount: This is the website to visit if you want to open your own personal My Social Security account. On this website, you can verify your earnings, obtain future benefit estimates and benefit verification letters, update your social security information if you are a beneficiary and use other services. The SSA is constantly striving to make doing business with them easy and efficient by adding new features from time to time.
- blog.socialsecurity.gov: This is the SSA’s official blog where you can read all social security news and updates. These informative articles can be shared via social media with family and friends.
- socialsecurity.gov/faq: This site provides authoritative answers to the social security-related questions you may have.
- socialsecurity.gov/estimator: Here you can get instant, personalized estimates of your future social security benefits. This is helpful because once you know how much money you may get in the future, you can plan your finances.
- socialsecurity.gov/benefits/disability: If you want to apply for disability benefits, this is the place to go to.
- socialsecurity.gov/benefits/retirement: This is a very convenient portal to apply for your retirement benefits. You can complete and submit the online application form within 15 minutes.
- socialsecurity.gov/pubs: This is the SSA’s publication library. They have included online booklets and pamphlets, including audio versions of these on important subjects of interest.
- facebook.com/socialsecurity: Thousands of customers engage with the SSA via their Facebook page. You can follow the SSA and join the conversation.
- instagram.com/SocialSecurity: This is the Instagram account of the SSA, where you can get all social security news.
Communication with the SSA is much easier via their online accounts. As providers of medical records services to social security disability lawyers, we know that lawyers advise their clients to use these websites properly and ensuring security. To prevent cyber security issues, beneficiaries are advised to check and make sure that their personal information such as date of birth, mailing address and so on are correct. In case a monthly payment has not arrived, they should immediately notify the SSA. The SSA has also implemented a feature called “Block Electronic Access” to deal with security breaches. This blocks any automatic telephone or online access to a beneficiary’s social security record, including by the beneficiary. By contacting the SSA and producing proof of your identity, you can restore access once again.
