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How-To-File Options: Do's and Don'ts

When retiring, you have choices about how to notify Social Security. Some of these choices aren't always generally known by everyone. Here are some tips to keep in mind.

IN-PERSON

• Contact your local field office and schedule an appointment to go into your servicing office and meet with a claims representative. You can call the 800 number (800.772.1213) or the office itself, now listed in the government pages and the white pages, unless you live in a major metropolitan city where only the 800 number is listed.

As a rule of thumb, do not walk into a field office without an appointment. You might encounter delays.

TELEPHONE:

• Call the 800 number and schedule an appointment for your retirement claim to be taken by phone. They can schedule appointments as far as 28 days into the future. Appointments are available Mondays through Fridays with several time slots during the day, usually after 9 a.m. and no later than 4 p.m. Interviews last at least 30 minutes, sometimes longer.

Do not call the 800 number early in the month or early in the week; those are the busiest times and your wait will be long.

Do listen to their menu as they offer many choices and useful information.

• Call the 800 number and ask them if you could file your retirement claim immediately by telephone. This option may or may not be available, depending on current demand and usage. Make sure you have your information ready. You will be asked to mail in your original documents (birth certificate, military discharge papers, etc.). They will mail them back to you.

If you do not want to mail originals you will have to go into your local office so they can look at them and make copies. If you choose to do this, make an appointment to drop off your copies or you will end up taking a number and waiting for someone to call your name/number just to have photocopies made.

Do consider mailing your originals; SSA is sensitive to the need to mail them back immediately.

ONLINE:

• File by Internet at www.ssa.gov where you will also find many other links to assist you, including eligibility issues, frequently asked questions, benefit calculators and other resources.

Do plan on spending up to one to two hours on the internet and have your information ready. There are many screens to go through, although you can do it from the comfort of your home and it is a secure site where you will be asked to create a password.

Do keep in mind that you will be asked to mail in your original documents (birth certificate, military discharge papers, etc.), and they will mail them back to you. If you do not want to do this you will have to go into your local office, so make an appointment to avoid waiting times.

Reminder: Not all Social Security offices experience heavy walk-in traffic. Chances are, if you live in a small town or rural area, your local office will be able to assist you with a minimum waiting time. The opposite tends to be true, however, in metropolitan and major suburban cities.

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