My Social Security Account

Back in the good old days, SSA sent out a hard copy of a document that showed your lifetime hearings. It showed how much you would get at early retirement, how much you would get at full retirement and either how much you would get if you were disabled today or “you are not eligible for disability benefits,” today.  It says nothing about if you were eligible yesterday, this year, last year and so forth.

Now, the SSA does this all online.  Their website www.ssa.gov is really a great resource. If you know what the question is, you can find any answer to any Social Security related question. The site itself is (at least as of today) secure.  Unlike the Department of the Treasury, the Social Security website has not been hacked. However, for those who freak out about that kind of thing, you are not required; but if you want to file for disability online, you must create one. Creating a “My Social Security Account” is among the most frustrating things one can do on a computer. When I try to help clients do this online, I am successful only about 50% of the time – and it takes at least 2 hours before we’ve done anything productive. This is not a good use of my time. The best thing to do is call the National Call Center, (800) 772-1213 and have them help you do it. Because they are open until 7 p.m. PST, you will have (probably) a shorter wait time. During the rest of the day it can take up to two-hours to reach a live person. Get help just creating the My Social Security Account.  Unless you plan to do this without professional representation, starting a disability claim this way is, in my opinion, not a great idea.