Help Someone You Love Apply for Social Security and More

Social Security helps people in all stages of life. We provide easy and convenient ways to learn about and apply for benefits. Using our online services, your clients can assist friends and family members to:

1. Apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Check if the person they’re helping qualifies for SSI or apply at www.ssa.gov/ssi.
2. Apply for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. When the unexpected happens and a loved one can no longer work due to a serious medical condition, our disability benefits can be a lifeline. Find out more at www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability.
3. Create a personal my Social Security account. If your clients’ loved one is planning for retirement or interested in estimating their future benefits, they can create a free and secure my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount and view their Social Security Statement.
4. Check the status of a pending application for benefits. Quickly and easily check the status of an application with a personal my Social Security account. If your clients – or their loved ones – don’t have an account, they can create one at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
5. Appeal a decision for benefits. If your client or someone they know was denied Social Security benefits or SSI, they can request an appeal. We provide information on how to appeal decisions for both medical and non-medical reasons at www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/appeal.html.

To discover more ways your clients can assist others, please visit www.ssa.gov/thirdparty.

Becoming More Financially Confident

Encourage your clients to commit to saving successfully during America Saves Week! This year’s theme is A Financially Confident You. Your clients can increase their financial confidence by building healthy saving habits and taking advantage of resources available to support their financial stability.

America Saves Week runs from February 27 through March 3. It’s a great opportunity for your clients to learn about good financial habits and assess their own saving status. It’s also a perfect time for them to create a plan, start saving, and begin their journey toward financial stability.

Planning and saving are key to a successful retirement. The earlier your clients start saving for retirement, the better off they will be in the future. People who have a plan are twice as likely to save effectively. We encourage your clients to pledge to save for America Saves Week at www.americasavesweek.org. Your clients can visit www.ssa.gov/retirement for useful information to help them plan for retirement.

It’s never too early to begin saving. Our webpage, www.ssa.gov/people/earlycareer, has resources that can help young workers secure their today and tomorrow. Please share our infographic, Anytime is the Right Time to Save for Your Future, that provides helpful information for your clients about saving at www.ssa.gov/benefits/assets/materials/retirement/EN-05-10549.pdf.

The sooner your clients start saving, the more their money can grow.

Social Security Launches Redesigned Website at SSA.gov

Do your clients know about the redesigned SSA.gov? In December 2022, we updated our homepage with a new design to help your clients find what they need easily.

“SSA.gov is visited by over 180 million people per year and it is one of our most important tools for providing efficient and equitable access to service,” said Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, at the launch. “Whether providing service in person or online, our goal is to help people understand what they may qualify for and seamlessly transition them to an application process,” she said.

Now, with improved self-service accessibility to online services, you might not have to call or visit an office to get what you need. This helps our staff focus on serving customers who need in-person assistance.

The redesign is intended to provide a clear path to the tasks your clients need to accomplish. Many of the most visited sections of SSA.gov are now live with a more user-friendly and task-based approach. New pages and improvements based on public feedback will continue to be unveiled in the coming months, as part of our ongoing efforts to improve how the public can do business with us.

When you visit SSA.gov, you can use interactive tools to access a variety of services. To learn more, encourage your clients to visit our blog at https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-launches-redesigned-website-at-ssa-gov.

Stay Healthy and Independent with Senior Nutrition Programs

Are your clients eligible for Social Security retirement benefits or already receiving them? Did you know that your clients can also receive healthy meals and other nutrition services through the National Senior Nutrition Program? Local meal programs in communities across the country are waiting to serve them.

As we age, we have different needs, different ways we take care of our health, and different nutrients we need to get from our food. But we don’t always have enough healthy food or the desire to prepare or eat a meal. Whether your clients need more food, healthier food, someone to share a meal with, or just want to learn about good eating habits, a meal program can help.

Every day, senior nutrition programs serve almost one million meals to people age 60 and older. With home-delivered and group meal options, your clients can get the food they need in a way that works best for them. It can help your clients avoid missed meals – and save them time and money with less shopping and cooking.

To learn more about these local senior nutrition programs, your clients can visit our blog at https://blog.ssa.gov/stay-healthy-and-independent-with-the-senior-nutrition-program.

Getting Two SSI Payments in One Month

For most months in the year, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients get their SSI payment on the first day of the month. But when the first day of the month falls on the weekend or a federal holiday, your clients receive their SSI payment on the last business day before the first day of the month. That means your clients may get two SSI payments in the same month.

We do this to avoid putting your clients at a financial disadvantage and make sure that they don’t have to wait beyond the first of the month to get their payment. It does not mean that your clients are receiving a duplicate payment in the previous month, so they do not need to contact us to report the second payment.

Here’s how this will work in April 2023. April 1, 2023, falls on a Saturday, so we will issue your clients’ SSI payment for the month of April on March 31, 2023. In this example, your clients get two SSI payments in March.

The first March payment, on March 1, is their regularly scheduled payment for March. The second March payment, on March 31, 2023, is their SSI payment for the month of April.

Your clients can also check out our Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments for the current and upcoming calendar year at www.ssa.gov/pubs/calendar.htm.

Securing today and tomorrow starts with being informed. Please share this information with your clients.