|
Little Changes Make a Big Difference in Serving You
By Phil Walton, Social Security Manager in Toledo, OH
Guest Column
A new year is a time for change. People across the world
make resolutions and set goals to better themselves and the
world around them. Whether you want to shed a few pounds,
secure your finances for retirement, devote more time to
charity or go on a vacation you’ve always dreamed about,
chances are you have some ideas for a fresh start in 2014.
Social Security is no different. Our goal is to provide the
best service possible to everyone who comes to us for help,
whether they’re applying for disability benefits or getting
verification of their Social Security number. By investing
in new technologies and finding innovative, cost-effective
ways to deliver service, we are able to reach this goal. We
continue to rank high in customer service satisfaction and
have the best online services in government, providing the
best service to those who come to us for help.
Technology is vital to delivering quality service, and we
continue to provide more options for customers to do
business with us over the Internet or through self-service
kiosks. For example, my Social Security provides
people who use the Internet a secure way to do business with
us in an easy and convenient way at
www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.
We are making changes in the way we provide some services so
we can serve the vast majority of Americans better and more
efficiently. Most people won’t even notice the changes. So
allow us to fill you in.
Later this year, Social Security will stop providing benefit
verification letters in our local offices. You can still get
an instant letter online by creating a personal
my
Social Security account at
www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount,
or by calling our toll-free telephone number at
1-800-772-1213 to request one by mail. In addition, we will
discontinue providing Social Security number printouts.
These printouts have no security features and could be
easily misused or counterfeited. If you need proof of your
Social Security number and you do not have your Social
Security card, you may apply for a replacement card by
completing the Application for a Social Security Card
and providing the required documentation. You’ll find the
application online at
www.socialsecurity.gov/online/ss-5.pdf.
As always, we continue to work directly with other
agencies to minimize the need for furnishing proof of your
Social Security number.
You may want to check out our webinar that aired live on
January 9, “Benefit Verification Letters Online, Easy as
1-2-3.” The webinar explains how to establish an account on
my
Social Security, how to get a benefit
verification letter and other services offered at our
website. Watch the webinar at
www.socialsecurity.gov/webinars.
We wish you all the best in 2014 and hope that you are
successful in meeting your own goals and resolutions. If one
of them is to do business with Social Security, or even if
it is not, we will strive to continue providing the best and
most secure customer service possible. Learn more about
Social Security and what we do for you at
www.socialsecurity.gov. |
