Social Security

We have become aware of reports of fraudulent telephone calls from individuals claiming to represent the Social Security Administration (SSA). In them, unknown callers are using threatening language to warn unknowing victims that they will be arrested or face other legal action if they fail to call a provided phone number or press the number indicated in the message to address the issue. In some instances, these unknown callers switch tactics and communicate that they want to help an individual with activating a suspended Social Security number. Such calls are a scam, and are not coming from official SSA representatives.

We encourage you to inform your members and extended networks not to engage with such callers, and to report any suspicious calls to Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General by calling 1-800-269-0271 or submitting a report on the OIG website. We also urge you to read and share our Social Security Matters blog , which provides more information on the nature of these fraudulent calls, as well as instructions on how to report such activity.

Social Security is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the people we serve. We appreciate your help in spreading the word about this important topic.

A provision of the Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 requires us to solicit public comment on:

• the appropriateness of the order of preference for selecting a representative payee; and
• the effectiveness of our policy and operational procedures for determining when to change a representative payee.

On December 14, 2018, we published a Federal Register Notice requesting public feedback on nine questions related to our order of preference, policies, and operational procedures. We invite your comment on this notice before the public comment period ends on January 28, 2019.

You can access the notice and submit comments online.

Today, Social Security announced that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 67 million Americans will increase 2.8 percent in 2019.

Visit our blog to learn more about the COLA.

We are pleased to announce that we are expanding our my Social Security online wage reporting service to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients, as well as their spouses, parents, sponsors, and representative payees. Individuals receiving both Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and SSI, as well as their representative payees, can also report wages online. This service is available through our existing my Social Security portal. Check our website to learn more about my Social Security features and how to sign up. You can also click here to access more information about reporting wages online.

Join us on Facebook for a Social Security Live chat on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 11 a.m. EST. We will be speaking with special guest, Lisa Schifferle of the Federal Trade Commission.

During this live event, we will share important tips on consumer protection and how to safeguard your identity. We will also be discussing how to get involved in spreading the word during National Consumer Protection Week.

To join us, RSVP on our Facebook page and get a reminder HERE. We will be featuring questions from the public and look forward to hearing from you. Please note that a recording of the broadcast will be closed captioned and added to our YouTube channel within one week.

Don’t miss this engaging opportunity to learn from the experts!