Issue 42.14
October 3 is Techies Day-a time for propeller-heads to embrace their hardware-obsessed, online-addicted selves. But for the less technical, it also happens to be the 14th annual Computer Learning Month. So you have an entire month to figure out what the techies are celebrating.
You don’t have to be a techie or take a computer course to use Social Security’s online services. They’re so easy to use, anyone can do it! Just visit www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices<http://www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices> and you’ll see what we mean.
What exactly can you do online? A lot. Open a my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount<http://www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount>. You can use a my Social Security account to access your Social Security Statement to ensure that the earnings posted are accurate, since earnings are the basis of retirement benefits. You also can get estimates of future retirement, disability, and survivor benefits you or your family may receive. If you already receive Social Security benefits, you can get benefit verification letters, change your address and phone number, and start or update direct deposit information. Besides being safe, convenient, and secure, it’s easy to set up an account, so join the millions who already have one.
You can do other things at www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices<http://www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices as well. You can apply for benefits; get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about our programs, and find out all you want to know about Social Security from our webpages and online publications.
Social Security has been online for 20 years, and there is so much you can do from the comfort of your own home that wasn’t even a consideration 20 years ago. Perhaps we owe a debt of gratitude to the techies. But, our online services are so easy to use, you don’t have to be a techie to take advantage of the best online services in government.
Whether you’re a techie or a technophobe, we hope to serve you online soon at www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices<http://www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices