National Social Security Month Shines a Light on Our Online Services
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: November 3, 2023
In April, we celebrate National Social Security Month, and highlight our agency’s mission and purpose. We’re with you throughout life’s journey — from birth, to marriage, and into retirement — and we’re always searching for ways to give you easy and secure access to everything we offer.
We are constantly expanding our online services to give you freedom and control in how you wish to conduct business with us. Our online services help you plan for the future and keep you in control of your benefits. You can go online to:
- Find out if you qualify for benefits.
- Use our benefit planners to help you better understand your Social Security protection.
- Estimate your future retirement benefits to help you plan for your financial future.
- Retire online, or apply for Medicare quickly and easily.
- Open your personal my Social Security account. Your personal account is the most powerful tool to help you stay in control of your Social Security record. If you don’t receive benefits yet, you can:
- Get your Social Security Statement to review your earnings, make sure they’re recorded correctly.
- Get a benefit verification letter to prove you don’t receive Social Security benefits or that you applied but haven’t received an answer yet.
- Request a replacement Social Security card if you meet certain requirements.
- Check the status of your application or appeal a decision.
If you receive benefits, you can:
- Change your address and phone number.
- Get a benefit verification letter to prove you receive Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Medicare.
- Start deposits or change your direct deposit information at any time.
- Get a replacement Medicare card.
- Get a replacement Benefit Statement (SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S) for tax purposes.
Do you own a business? You can also use our Business Services Online suite to report employee wages and verify names and Social Security numbers for W-2s.
Join us and celebrate National Social Security Month by seeing everything you can do online!
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Tags: Medicare, my Social Security, my Social Security account, retirement benefits, Social Security benefits
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Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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John M.
If I am turning 62 and want to sign up but do not want to start collecting can I do that and not effect my benefits being lower when I do decide to start collecting?
L.A.
Hi John. Thank you for your question. If you change your mind, you may be able to withdraw your Social Security claim and apply again at a future date. However, you must do this within 12 months after the date you originally began receiving benefits. There are some things you need to know about what will happen if you withdraw your application. You can read about those things on our internet page titled “If You Change Your Mind.” We hope this helps.
Barbara K.
I have forgotten my password to sign in and have tried several times to retrieve it online, with no results.
Thank you!
A.C.
Hi, Barbara. We are sorry to hear you had difficulty accessing your personal my Social Security account. If you are still unable to access an account or encounter a problem with your personal my Social Security account, you may:
•Call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. At the voice prompt, say “helpdesk”; or
•Contact your local Social Security office. We hope this helps.
Vivian F.
I receiced a call regarding my SS card has been stolen and there is a lawsuit against me. I am assuming this is a scam. Am I correct?
L.A.
Hi Vivian. Thank you for letting us know about these calls. We do not usually make random calls. If you or anyone receives calls saying that they are from Social Security, do not give out any personal information. Suspicious calls should be reported to the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a new site specific to Social Security scams here. We hope this helps.
Bruce J.
Bull crap, I have been trying for over 5 years to clear up forged records which cost me my benefits, meaning fraud which was committed against me using my identitifers and I get nothing but the run around. SSA is willing to give back benefits now but only because they want to tag me for the over-payment and bull crap like this. They also try to short me retro because of their lost paperwork, all of which I can prove with paper-trail. Even have a document that clears me of the assumption they penalized me for which resulted in loss of benefits. They continually lost paperwork from my new attorney which amounts to denying me proper legal representation which is illegal as hell. Can’t get an honest Judge in Virginia to look at the assumptions and errors made in the case which keeps delaying the clearance of my name. AL hearings are not the same as a legal court system this would not happen in a real court. If it were up to me I’d fire two-thirds of the people who are currently working in SSA as they are either terribly incompetent or extremely dishonest (possibly both). I could do better and I have a damn brain injury but good morals. I really dislike the climate of total unaccountability coupled with plausible deniability (this equals corruption). That has been the bulk of my case in a nutshell. There are certain offices that I feel should face independent audit because they ‘lose’ to much paperwork. Now I understand they are trying to avoid date stamping paper work, stamped without a date. If tagged for this behavior they sheepishly place a date on it. This is not right….if I were an employee this would be whistle-blowing but since I am a client I am merely complaining and should not be taken at face-value? Total crap SSA…is this the standard of what America is about?
Dave C.
I need to change my tax status. God forbid I should be able to talk to someone on the phone. Too take care of this. Please call me If you can help me with this ? 978-857-7077 thanks Dave
A.C.
Hi, Dave. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue; therefore, we do not do direct calls. It sounds like you are referring to voluntary tax withholding. In order to have taxes withheld or to make changes to your withholding from your Social Security benefit, you must start by printing, completing and submitting an IRS Voluntary Withholding Request Form (Form W-4V). On this form, you can choose to have 7, 10, 12, or 22 percent of your monthly benefit withheld. To find this form, and for more information on completing this process, visit our Benefits Planner: Withholding Income Tax from Your Social Security Benefits.
Just a reminder – please be cautious about posting personal information on social media. We hope this helps.
Paul H.
You have officially made it impossible to make a payment on the “overpayment” of my disability benefits (Which, incidentally, was your own administrative error, not a failure to report a change on my part.) I moved and when I called the overpayment center to change my address, the phone system cut me off after I pressed the right buttons. This happened several times. It also happened when I tried to make a payment because I knew I was behind but your billing statements weren’t getting through. I also called the main SSA number. At both numbers I kept getting busy signals and recordings like, “I don’t know which mailbox you are trying to access.” Now when I try to make a payment on my overpayment online, I don’t see how to do it. The search results either have nothing to do with repayments, or the link is broken. When I go to the SSA office here, it’s a four-hour wait – to make a payment?!!!!! Are you guys kidding me? And the worst part is, this is going on MY record, it will be deducted from MY paychecks, … PLEASE Fix yourselves!!!
V.V.
Paul, thank you for using our blog. For your security, we do not have access to your overpayment information in this venue. Our Overpayments factsheet offers information on options for repaying as well as appeal and waiver rights. For further assistance, please call our toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Representatives are available between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday or contact your local Social Security office.