Having Trouble Finding Social Security? Here’s A List Of Website Addresses To Help

Third in a series of posts about Social Security, hopefully this will help you find what you are looking for.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) isn’t really hiding, it’s just like any other government office. The size of this bureaucracy just makes it hard to navigate. The main website page is right here.  http://www.ssa.gov/

You can also select Spanish and other languages from this page if you don’t read English well. The links on the left side of the page take you to many resources on this site, but I have made a list here to help you get where you need to go. Hopefully, my list gets you there a little faster.

I made this list by finding out what people are searching for about Social Security on the Internet, so if the list doesn’t have what you need, please go to the main Social Security website using the link in the previous paragraph.

The second most searched for subject is the locations and phone numbers for SSA offices. The place to find those is here.  https://secure.ssa.gov/apps6z/FOLO/fo001.jsp

When I entered my Zip Code and clicked the link, I got a lot of good information about the nearest Social Security office. There was even a map of the general area as well as a link to find other related information that I might need such as housing, meal assistance, etc.

The form is easy enough to use. You just enter your zip code and click on the locate button. One thing that seemed odd to me was the link on this page that said “Special Instructions for Users Who Are Blind”. Am I missing something here? How does a blind person see this link so they can know it’s there and use it? Life is full of mysteries like this.

Before I move on, let me tell you a little secret about which SSA office to use if you need to go to one in person. I live in a small town near a large city. We don’t have a Social Security office, so the nearest one is in a big city. It’s a real problem because the office is usually crowded and driving in big city traffic can be a real hassle. What I did was find another office in a smaller city near me and went there. It was a little more of a drive, but avoiding the traffic and waiting in line made it worth it.

The last thing to cover here is about online forms and publications. The web page is here. http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/formspubs.htm Some things can be done online so check it out. Maybe this will save you a trip to the big city. You’ll also find links to publications in English and other languages.

I hope this makes it a little easier for you to find what you need. Until next time, take care and be safe.

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Social Security Death Index

2nd In A Series About Social Security

The Social Security Administration (SSA) maintains a national file of death information. They call it rather grimly the Death Master File (DMF).

Here’s what the Social Administration website says. Under the Freedom of Information Act, we are required to disclose the DMF to members of the public. Like most things you hear or read from the government, there’s more to this story.  First off, while it may be true that you can get information about a deceased person, the word Freedom in Freedom of Information Act does not mean the information is free. For that matter, it doesn’t even mean the information in the records is accurate or even exists for the person you need information about.

If you are trying to get information about a deceased person, the best information you can give the SSA is the Social Security number of that person. If you don’t have that, here’s what they say you need. “When a Social Security Number cannot be provided we can still search for a person’s records by using the individual’s full name, date and place of birth, and parents’ names (including mother’s maiden name).”

If you can provide this information SSA will search their records to determine whether or not they have the record you need. The SSA can’t help you if the person you are searching for died before 1936 or was born before 1865 unless you provide the SSN.

If SSA has what you need, this is what you get for your time and money.
A copy of the Application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5). This document contains the person’s name, date and place of birth, and parents’ names that were given when he or she applied for the number.

And this is what the service costs:
Searching for the SS-5 application and you know and provide to SSA the person’s Social Security number (SSN): $27.00
Searching for the SS-5 application and you do not know the person’s SSN but can provide other identifying information: $29.00
Searching for a claims file and you know and provide to SSA the person’s SSN: $14.00 (Claims files are usually destroyed within a few years of the final decision on a claim.)
Cost per page for photocopying material from the claim file: $.10
Cost of the actual postage (To be determined)

What guarantee do you get from the government that you will get any information that you request?
NONE. Here’s what they say. The search fee will be charged even if we are unable to locate or disclose any information. If you want us to search for these records, please send a written request along with a check or money order payable to the Social Security Administration. They also will accept the following credit cards: VISA, MasterCard or Discover. Please include the appropriate credit card number, along with the expiration date of the credit card. We will advise you of any additional charges if appropriate.

A Better Place To Start Your Search
I found a website that let me enter what I knew and with my father’s full name and dates of birth and death I got his Social Security number. The website is  http://stevemorse.org/ssdi/ssdi.html.

There was also a link out to Search Ancestry.com where I could sign up for a 14-day trial membership and if I wanted to stay a member I’d be charged $12.95/month.

I’m not recommending Search Ancestry.com and currently have no affiliation with them. I just wanted to show you one option for finding about deceased family or friends.

I don’t know exactly what my next article will be about, but I know a lot of retired people must be wondering if their Social Security benefits will come under attack from law makers. So, I’ll be looking to see what others are concerned about and try to give you something useful.

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Social Security - Good Retirement Plan or Robbing Peter To Pay Paul Scheme?

First in a series of undetermined number.  I’d like comments posted to tell me what you want to know about Social Security and maybe something about your own situation.

For those of us already drawing Social Security this question may be meaningless.  If we are no longer working and earning enough to still be paying taxes, we’re already fully invested and now are on the receiving end of the program.  Briefly, here’s a few facts that I got from official government websites.

Q1:  When did Social Security start?

A: The Social Security Act was signed by FDR on 8/14/35. Taxes were collected for the first time in January 1937 and the first one-time, lump-sum payments were made that same month. Regular ongoing monthly benefits started in January 1940.   By the way, the first lump sum payment was for a whopping 17 cents.

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Q2:  What is the origin of the term “Social Security?”

A: The term was first used in the U.S. by Abraham Epstein in connection with his group, the American Association for Social Security. Originally, the Social Security Act of 1935 was named the Economic Security Act, but this title was changed during Congressional consideration of the bill. (The full story has been recounted by Professor Edwin Witte who was present at the event.)

Q4:  Is it true that Social Security was originally just a retirement program?

A:  Yes. Under the 1935 law, what we now think of as Social Security only paid retirement benefits to the primary worker. A 1939 change in the law added survivors benefits and benefits for the retiree’s spouse and children. In 1956 disability benefits were added.

Keep in mind, however, that the Social Security Act itself was much broader than just the program which today we commonly describe as “Social Security.” The original 1935 law contained the first national unemployment compensation program, aid to the states for various health and welfare programs, and the Aid to Dependent Children program. (Full text of the 1935 law.)

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Q6:  Is is true that the age of 65 was chosen as the retirement age for Social Security because the Germans used 65 in their system, and the Germans used age 65 because their Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, was 65 at the time they developed their system?

A:  No, it is not true. Generally, age 65 was chosen to conform to contemporary practice during the 1930s. (See more detailed explanation.)

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Q7:  Is it true that life expectancy was less than 65 back in 1935, so the Social Security program was designed in such a way that people would not live long enough to collect benefits?

A:  Not really. Life expectancy at birth was less than 65, but this is a misleading measure. A more appropriate measure is life expectancy after attainment of adulthood, which shows that most Americans could expect to live to age 65 once they survived childhood. (See more detailed explanation.)

More questions and answers can be found here http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/hfaq.html if you want to investigate on your own.

A lot of people have called Social Security a Ponzi scheme.  The name Ponzi comes from a guy, Charles Ponzi, who concocted a scheme to get investors to join an investment plan that would guarantee a certain amount of return on their money.  Problem was, the amount of earnings was less than the money needed to pay the investors back on the promised schedule.  Also, Mr. Ponzi was using some of the money for his personal expenses.  In other words, he was stealing.  In order to keep the scheme going, Mr. Ponzi had to keep getting more and more investors involved to keep a flow of fresh money coming into the accounts.

The catch with a scheme like this is that at some point one of three things will happen:

1) The promoter will vanish, taking all the remaining investment money (minus the payouts to investors) with him.
2) The scheme will collapse under its own weight as investment slows and the promoter starts having problems paying out the promised returns (the higher the returns, the greater the chance of the Ponzi scheme collapsing). Such liquidity crises often trigger panics, as more people start asking for their money, similar to a bank run.
3) The scheme is exposed because the promoter fails to validate the claims when asked to do so by legal authorities.

Now in the case of Social Security, it’s the second “catch” that is plagueing the Social Security plan.  But instead of Social Security being a Ponzi scheme, it is more like a “Robbing Peter To Pay Paul” plan.

It’s an old saying that a government robbing Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul.  Well, in the case of Social Security, the federal government is having to rob Peter, Paul Jr. and Mary to keep up with payments to Paul.  How did this happen?  In its’ simplest form, it seems that government projections of Social Security taxes coming in will soon be less than payments going out.  In other words, there are a lot less sons and daughters of Peter, Paul and Mary working and paying into the system than needed to support money going to the older generation drawing from the system.

This is a very completed problem and will never be solved without a lot of financial pain, especially by our working sons and daughters.  There doesn’t seem to be any real interest by our political leaders to do anything truly innovative to solve this looming problem.

Looking for a deceased family member for your records or genealogy research?  The Social Security Administration (SSA) has what they call the Social Security Death Index.  That’s the subject of my next article.  I hope to see you here again.

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How Do You Connect To Your Family With The Internet?

Do you have family scattered around the U.S. and maybe the world? I do…well at least they are scattered around Texas, mostly the Houston area. And then there’s the son who didn’t think Texas was hot enough so he went to live in Phoenix, Arizona. Got married there and has a good wife and three beautiful (and smart) kids. I was in Phoenix a few times and it was really hot. People there would say “it’s hot alright, but the humidity is so low that when you sweat it just boils off and helps keep you cool”. What a crock. Did you ever notice how people look away from you when their lying?  When you can fry an egg on the pavement in two minutes that’s too hot for my tastes.

As for my son taking off to Phoenix, I can’t say too much though because when I retired and saw all my kids busy with their lives and doing OK without Dad, I scattered myself too.  Houston was just too hot in the summer and the mosquitos.  Oh those Gulf coast mosquitos! I heard stories that they were so thick around Freeport, TX and so big that the locals there call them “Freeport Gallon Nippers”.  Then there’s the movie director making a film in the area who said there were two types of mosquitos there.  There was the one so small they could fly right through a screen door and the other type was so big they could open it.

Well, back to my connection story.  The challenge is keeping in touch with kids and my extended family from the North East to the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean.

Of course, like most, my main form of connection is email. It’s fast, easy to use and when it’s time to get a coffee or take care of some other business, I don’t have to put anyone on hold. Besides, I can always change something I wrote before I hit the send button. It’s hard to unsay something when you’ve put your foot in your mouth in a phone conversation.

Even so, there’s nothing like hearing the voice of your loved one, so my other main form of communication with friends and family is Skype. You know about Skype don’t you? I use it fairly often and even though I’m on a DSL connection (that’s a considerable step down from broadband in the speed department) I can usually get a crystal clear connection. Remember the old telephone commercial on TV that showed a pin bouncing on the floor and them pretending that your phone line was so good that you could hear that pin hit the floor? Well I’ve got really bad hearing now thanks to working in very high noise areas many years ago. OSHA wasn’t around then. Anyhow, with Skype, I can call anywhere to the U.S., usually getting a great connection and talk to my kids, siblings or friends for an hour and pay a lot less than for a Starbucks latte. Go figure. I’m a big fan of Skype. Now Skype has video too.  I’ll talk about that some day. If you’ve got family, like most of us do, all over the country and maybe the world, I’d highly recommend you get Skype. The software is free and it works. Until next time. Be safe and God Bless.

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Digital Photography Has never Been Easier!

They made those little screens bigger finally!  These days digital cameras are easier to use, cheaper, and darn near the funnest little toy I’ve played with in the last decade.  Find out what the latest bargains and senior friendly models are…

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Silver Surfers Center - Dedicated To The 60s+ Best And Brightest!

About Senior Surfers Center.  Except for AARP, there really aren’t any web sites (that I’ve found), offering a wide variety of helpful information about what it’s like to be over 60 and how to manage a life in retirement and often on a low fixed income.  We’ve just opened our doors so this site is definitely a work in progress.  But, like all worthwhile ventures, we will take one step at a time without thought to quitting.  This site is worth the effort and I hope you will soon join our family for the adventure.

While other sites do offer a lot of information, two of the differences I want to help you make are:
1. learning how people in our age group can use the Internet to connect with others of similar interests.
2. learning how you can use the Internet to supplement your retirement income if you wish.

The Silver Surfers Center community of users is established to make true connections and friends. Silver Surfers Center will also become an economy of like minded people.  After all, on the Internet, almost everyone with enough interest and  ambition  can find something they are good at and transform that knowledge into a source of income.

In this age of government control of the “real world” economy, the seniors are going to find themselves in more and more financial trouble.  Senior Surfers Center will become a part of something that helps people escape the situation where their future health and prosperity are tied solely to their dependence on a check from the government.

The America of opportunity has become the prison of poverty and despair as age and a changing world has
sapped our energy and just getting by has become a major hurdle for many.  Silver Surfers Center will work diligently to open avenues of friendship, community and opportunity unlike any seen before on the Internet for the 60+group.

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