Social Security

The Social Security Administration will host their 10th Annual Small Business Procurement Conference on Thursday, June 8, 2017 from 9:00am to 3:00pm. This is an opportunity for small business to gain access to SSA’s government officials and procurement representatives.

Once a year we highlight the awareness of the small business community to the contracting opportunities available within SSA. The conference is open to all industries and provides an environment for the following: learn acquisition needs, market your products/services, attend workshops, and participate in one-on-one matchmaking sessions, as well as exhibit to government agencies and prime contractors.

The conference is being held in Baltimore, MD. For registration and additional information about the conference, please use the following link: https://www.regonline.com/2017SSASBConference.

We are very pleased to announce that Social Security has a new Acting Associate Commissioner for External Affairs.

Robert (Bob) Patterson comes to Social Security with a wealth of experience in communications and public engagement.

He has served as Speechwriter and Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families with the Department of Health and Human Services, and Senior Speechwriter with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Most recently, Bob served as Vice President for Government Relations at the U.S. Business and Industry Council. His background also includes a wide range of experience in the private sector and academia as a policy expert, professor and op-ed contributor.

In the coming weeks and months, he will be contacting you about new opportunities to help us educate the public about their Social Security protections and the critical need for financial planning.

Please join us in wishing Bob success in his new position!

Social Security is adding a new requirement to protect the privacy of my Social Security customers. We will be alerting current my Social Security account holders of the change via direct email over the next few weeks.

Effective June 10, 2017, my Social Security customers will be required to use their cell phone or email account as a second means of identification for each registration and sign in. To learn more please visit the latest edition of Social Security Update online.

Along with this new improvement, we are enhancing the my Social Security portal to allow for “responsive design,” a technology that resizes the my Social Security content based on device screen size – such as tablets, smart phones, etc. All users, regardless of what type of device they use, will experience the same ease of use and full access to our portal.

Please help us spread the word about this important change through your networks.

April is National Social Security Month! During this special month, you can help us spread awareness about the importance of financial planning by taking part in our Thunderclap, a synchronized social media event to educate your networks about our programs and services.

Sign up here today to add your social media followers to the list of people who will receive this message at the same time on April 17:

Celebrate National #SocialSecurity Month! Take ‘5 Steps Toward
YOUR Financial Security’
www.socialsecurity.gov/agency/5-steps-toward-your-financial-security/

Follow the simple prompts to sign up for the Thunderclap, and you don’t need to do anything more.

I hope you will also consider sharing our ready-to-post educational materials during National Social Security Month and beyond. Your participation will help us inform the public how our programs support them through every step on life’s journey, including important information concerning their current protections and future benefits.

Social Security retirement benefits replace about 40 percent of pre-retirement earnings for the average worker. That’s a good foundation, but most people will also need other sources of income in retirement — like pensions, savings, and investments. Yet nearly a third of the nation’s workers have no money at all set aside specifically for retirement, let alone enough to live comfortably.

Together, we can help the public understand their Social Security protections and put workers and their families in control of their financial future.

We invite you to the Sixth National Disability Forum on “Exploring Potential Changes to the Ticket to Work Regulations.”

What is the Ticket to Work program?

The Ticket to Work program provides employment support to our beneficiaries with disabilities as they work toward self-sufficiency. This forum will allow stakeholders to discuss their ideas about possible improvements to the program, in person and virtually. Our presenters represent many of our stakeholders: employment networks, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, National Disability Rights Network representatives, and Ticket to Work program participants.

When Is the National Disability Forum?

The National Disability Forum is Wednesday, April 5, 2017 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT at the National Education Association located at 1201 16^th Street, NW, Washington DC. The forum will also be available via teleconference.

Who are the Speakers?

Melanie Porter, Senior Advisor, Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support (ORDES) at the Social Security Administration, will moderate the discussion.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Joseph M. Ashley, Rh.D., CRC, Assistant Commissioner, Grants and Special Programs, Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services;
• M.J. Willard, Executive Director, National Telecommuting Institute;
• Judy Sanderson,Director of Employment Services, Granite State Independent Living, New Hampshire;
• Cheryl Bates-Harris, Senior Disability Advocacy Specialist, Training & Advocacy Support Center, National Disability Rights Network; and
• Andréa LaVant, Inclusion Senior Specialist, Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital.

Register Now!

Join the Online Discussion

In preparation for the forum, we are soliciting public input on whether and how we should revise the current Ticket to Work program regulations. Submit your thoughts through our IdeaScale engagement site from now through April 24, 2017. IdeaScale is an online tool where you can share your thoughts and ideas with others and respond to their comments. Please refer to the attached guide for IdeaScale instructions.

We also invite you to follow us on Twitter. The Twitter handle is @SSAOutreach. Please use #SSANDForum.

To learn more about the National Disability Forum, visit us at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/ndf/.

During the Month of April, we celebrate National Social Security Month. Please help us encourage financial preparedness during this special month. Be on the lookout for shareable content, featuring special guest contributors, on Social Security Matters, Facebook, and Twitter ( @SocialSecurity & @SSAOutreach). Also, be sure to check back soon to our Information for Groups and Organizations page for ready-to-post educational materials that you can distribute through your networks. Thank you for helping Social Security secure today and tomorrow.

March is Women’s History Month — a perfect time to reflect on the contributions and achievements of women, as well as to examine women’s financial wellness.

In honor of Women’s History Month, please join us for a conference call on Tuesday, March 7th, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. EST. This call will launch Social Security’s initiative to encourage women in all stages of life to complete a financial wellness check-up to “Discover, Plan and Share”: Discover your Social Security benefits; Plan for your financial security; and, Share what you’ve learned with other women.

During the call, you will hear from a panel of experts who will discuss:

• Why Social Security is Important to Women;
• Savers Tax Credit;
• Marital Status & Financial Planning;
• Employer Retirement Plans; and,
• myRA - Retirement Savings Account.

Please register here by Monday, March 6th. Please feel free to share with others. We appreciate and thank you for all of your support.

Social Security has made requesting or replacing your annual Benefit Statement even easier. The Benefit Statement is also known as the SSA-1099 or the SSA-1042S. Now you have the ability to download it anytime and anywhere you want using our online services. There’s no need to visit a field office.

An SSA-1099 is a tax form Social Security mails each year in January to people who receive Social Security benefits. It shows the total amount of benefits you received from Social Security in the previous year so you know how much Social Security income to report to IRS on your tax return.

If you currently live in the United States and you need a replacement form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S, simply go online and request an instant, printable replacement form with a my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount .

A replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S is typically available for the previous tax year after February 1.

If you already have a my Social Security account, you should access your online account and go to “Replacements Documents” to view and print your SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can save the document on your computer or laptop and email it. If you don’t have a my Social Security account, creating a secure account is very easy to do and usually takes less than 15 minutes.

If you’re a noncitizen who lives outside of the United States and you received or repaid Social Security benefits last year, we will send you form SSA-1042S instead. The forms SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S are not available for people who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

For those who help others with preparing their taxes, be sure to check out our new Information for Tax Preparers web page. Here you’ll find helpful reminders, links to IRS forms, and informative fact sheets for you and for your clients to help them satisfy their Social Security–related tax obligations. Please visit this page frequently for the latest Social Security tax preparation news and updates. While you're there, be sure to download, print, and display our replacement SSA-1099 poster in your offices.

The transition to adulthood is one of the most important parts of life’s journey. For foster children living with a disability, it can be even more challenging. Social Security is conducting a pilot study that will let these young people apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits sooner.

Since 2010, their rules have allowed foster children to apply for this program up to 90 days before their foster care eligibility will end. This lessens the risk that these young people will experience a gap in income support while Social Security considers their application. However, in some cases the decision process lasts longer than 90 days.

On August 1, 2016, Social Security implemented a year-long pilot study doubling the SSI application window to 180 days before foster care eligibility ends. This pilot will help them assess whether the longer period significantly reduces the number of individuals experiencing gaps in income support. After a year, they will decide whether to make the policy permanent.

Twitter Posts

• @SocialSecurity new pilot is here for #SSI transition-age #fostercare #youth, visit http://ow.ly/33bL303syd5
• Find out more on @SocialSecurity early #SSI applications pilot for #fostercare doubling from 90 to 180 days, http://ow.ly/xVea303sAic
• @SocialSecurity new pilot for transition-age #fostercare #youth applying for #SSI, visit http://ow.ly/pbyp303sB3Q

Publication

What You Need to Know About Your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) When You Turn 18

You may have heard that some of our rules about claiming retirement benefits are changing. Last November, Congress passed legislation to close loopholes that had allowed some married couples to receive higher benefits than intended. We estimate less than 0.2 percent of total Social Security retirement and survivor’s beneficiaries used these claiming strategies in 2014.

Closing these loopholes helps restore fairness and strengthens Social Security’s long-term financing. For details about the closed loopholes, visit our Social Security Matters blog post.

Please tell your members and constituents why Congress made these changes in the law. While you have their attention, you may also want to remind them about the advantages of waiting to claim retirement benefits. That hasn’t changed.

Thank you for helping us to keep the public informed!

Social Security’s Office of External Affairs is now on Twitter! Follow @SSAOutreach to get the latest updates on our national and regional outreach efforts. We created this new Twitter account for our partners in the advocacy community and third parties who serve the public.

Follow @SSAOutreach to:

• Get the latest news on our events, policy updates, and Social Security services.
  
  
• Hear from Social Security’s Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin and our senior executives about current topics
  
  
• Get live tweets from important conferences and meetings, like our National Quarterly Advocates Conference Call coming up on June 17.
  
  
• Find out what’s new at Social Security with communities your organization serves—such as American Indians and Alaska Natives, African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, immigrants, people with disabilities, homeless populations, same-sex couples, veterans, women, and young people.
  
  
• Keep up with news for appointed representatives, financial planners, health and school professionals, human resource experts, Medicare outreach organizations, representative payees, faith-based leaders, and other third parties with an interest in our programs and services.
  
  
• Retweet items of value to your network and members.

We invite you to visit @SSAOutreach and hope you can be among our first followers.

We are excited to introduce the expansion of online services available through the my Social Security portal at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. Medicare beneficiaries can now obtain a replacement card if they have lost, damaged, or simply need to replace it online using a my Social Security account.

The Medicare card is the most important piece of identification a beneficiary needs—it's proof that they have Medicare health insurance. Medical professionals and insurance companies need this proof to provide care and accurately calculate compensation for services.

Requesting a replacement card through a my Social Security beneficiaries have a critical piece of identification available when required by medical providers as proof of Medicare coverage. Simply access your online my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount and select the “Replacement Documents” tab. Then select “Mail my replacement Medicare card.” After you request a card, it will arrive in the mail in approximately 30 days.

With a my Social Security account, our beneficiaries can also:

• Get a letter showing what benefits they receive;
• Change their address and phone number;
• Start or change direct deposit of their benefit payment; and now
• Get a replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S for tax season

We hope that you find this information helpful, and we encourage you to share it with your members and colleagues.

Recently, Social Security launched an informative new web page that highlights the agency's many efforts in fighting fraud and protecting every worker's investment in the Social Security program. The web address is www.socialsecurity.gov/antifraudfacts.

Visitors to this site will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the hard work we do every day to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in our programs. The website includes information on the tools we use to fight fraud, spotlights some of our highly successful anti-fraud efforts, and provides materials you can use to help us spread the word that Social Security has zero tolerance for fraud.

We invite you to visit the website and use the materials to help us inform the public that Social Security takes fraud seriously and is very effective in limiting the instances of fraud.

We hope you will join us in disseminating the facts about our anti-fraud efforts as we work together to prevent the use of inaccurate information about fraud to advocate cutbacks in the disability program.

Please feel free to contact us at oea.net.post@ssa.gov with comments—or to discuss further ways that your organization can collaborate with Social Security to raise awareness about our efforts.

With the new year comes tax season—something we all have to prepare for. Americans spend over 13 hours every year doing their taxes.  Knowing how difficult filing taxes can be, we would like to help you keep the process as simple as possible. We are excited to offer a new online service to help people who receive Social Security benefits have the information they need to file their tax returns. If your clients receive Social Security benefits, but did not receive or misplaced their SSA-1099, they can use an online my Social Security account to get an instant replacement for tax purposes. Setting up an account is easy, secure, and convenient. They just need to go to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.