8 Services Provided by Social Security

Most people count on the Social Security Administration to provide funds for retirees.  But according to Money Talk News, many Americans may not be aware of all the services provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

• Many non-retirees receive benefits through the Social Security Administration, such as widows, parents, children, the disabled and the blind.
• Medicare is administered by the SSA. It handles enrollments in Medicare Parts A and B, and also handles applications for “Extra Help”– a program that lowers the costs of Medicare Part D for eligible seniors by about $5,100 per year.
• Did you know you can request a replacement Medicare card from the SSA online. (You can also do this over the phone by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.)
• Proof of Income: “In certain situations, such as when applying for government assistance, an apartment, mortgage or some other loan, you might be required to provide proof of income,” writes Brandon Ballenger. “One piece of evidence might come from the SSA, in what’s called a Social Security Benefit Verification Letter. Contrary to what the name suggests, you don’t need to be receiving benefits to get one. In fact, as the SSA website points out, these letters can also be used as proof that you don’t receive benefits or haven’t in the past.”
• Baby Names: The Social Security Administration keeps information on names going all the way back to 1880. You can find the most popular names given in a year, decade or over the past century, even broken down by state: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/index.html
• The Social Security Administration provides calculators that can help you answer questions like: When should I stop working? How much money will I receive from Social Security at different ages? There is even a calculator that gives you a statistical analysis of how long you will live. To see the full list of SSA calculators, click this link: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/calculators/
• The SSA can tell you exactly how much you earned in any given year in your online “earnings record.”

The information for this article was provided by Money Talk News. To view the original version of the article, link here: here.