Applying for Social Security gets easier
Signing up for Social Security any time soon?
If so, you can save time online, the Social Security Administration promises. In the old days, it would take you a trip to the nearest Social Security office and about 45 minutes to fill out a form. Now you can complete the process in about 12 to 15 minutes at www.ssa.gov. (Click “Applying Online for Retirement Benefits.”)
As the new Social Security spokeswoman, Patty Duke reprises her roles as Patty and Cathy Lane from The Patty Duke Show in this TV ad.
“To meet the needs of Patty and 80 million of her fellow baby boomers, who are becoming eligible for retirement at a rate of 10,000 a day for the next 20 years, Social Security is developing a wide range of online and automated services,” said Michael J. Astrue, commissioner of Social Security.
The new form simplifies the application by directing individuals only to questions that apply to their particular situation, based on responses to previous questions. And most people no longer have to present a copy of their birth certificate in person or by mail – as of March 2008, that requirement was largely eliminated.
There are options available on the system for those who are helping others use the online application. Users may choose from “I am applying for myself”; “I am helping someone who wants to apply for benefits and is with me”; or “I am helping someone who is not with me, and therefore cannot sign the application at this time.”
About 1 million people are expected to use the online application in 2009, up from 750,000 last year.
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