Anxious to check on your Social Security benefits while you are grocery shopping? You will be pleased to learn that the Social Security Administration has created a special mobile website especially for your smartphone.
While you may not be checking on your retirement benefits while you are out and about, your neighbors apparently are. Each year, more than 35 million Social Security web page views come via smartphones. So, the Social Security Administration has responded appropriately in creating a website particularly designed for smartphone visitors.
Smartphones users are now automatically redirected to a mobile-friendly site which is easier to navigate on a small screen. The mobile site uses different colored tiles to direct users to different information centers.
According to a Social Security Administration Press Release, people “visiting the agency’s website, www.socialsecurity.gov, via smartphone (Android, Blackberry, iPhone, and Windows devices) will be redirected to the agency’s new mobile-friendly site. Once there, visitors can access a mobile version of Social Security’s Frequently Asked Questions, an interactive Social Security number (SSN) decision tree to help people identify documents needed for a new/replacement SSN card, and mobile publications which they can listen to in both English and Spanish right on their phone.”
“With significant budget cuts of nearly a billion dollars each year over the last few years, we must continue to leverage technology and find more innovative ways to meet the evolving needs of the American public without compromising service,” said Social Security Acting Commissioner Carolyn Colvin when she introduced the website last May.
Of course you can also use your smartphone to contact Social Security the old fashioned way. By calling 1-800-772-1213, you reach Social Security’s automated telephone services where you get recorded information and can conduct some business 24 hours a day. You can also speak to a human Social Security representative between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, you can call Social Security’s toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Special Note to Elder Law Attorneys and other advocates: The Social Security POMS are available to you on your smartphone. The POMS (Program Operations Manual System) is a primary source of information used by Social Security employees to process claims for Social Security benefits. Due to the ties between SSI and Medicaid they can be relevant and helpful in Medicaid eligibility decisions as well. To locate the POMS on your phone just google “SocialSecurity.gov POMS” or type in or click on the following link: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/.
