Q: I work for the Social Security Administration in the Dallas area. I enjoy reading your column and I have even learned a few things about the Social Security program. I like the way you explain the reasoning behind various laws to your readers. That is something that is lacking in the training we get from SSA. But I do have one gripe. I wish you would stop telling people to “talk to someone at their local Social Security office” or to “visit their local Social Security office.” Our staffing levels are always being cut. People should try to resolve their business at our toll-free number or at our website. If they insist on going to a Social Security office in person, they should call first to make an appointment. Thanks for listening.
A: Point well-taken. Although people can just drop into any Social Security office and eventually get served, it makes more sense to call ahead of time to make an appointment. They should call SSA’s toll-free number — 800-772-1213 — to do that.
And more and more people are comfortable taking care of their Social Security business online. SSA has a pretty good and easy-to-navigate website — ssa.gov—that lets you do just about anything from your computer.
So why do I tell people to “talk to someone at their local Social Security office?” I guess it’s partly because I’m an old-fashioned guy. I miss the days when a Social Security office was a nice place to visit. And people would just drop in anytime. No appointments necessary.
And part of being old-fashioned is that I do miss the one-on-one personal service people used to get. I liked sitting down with folks and not only helping them fill out benefit application forms but also explaining why rules and laws were in place and how the system worked.
It is obviously more efficient to try to handle as much Social Security work as possible via the phone or computer. But I still think there are some things that can be handled best by sitting down and talking to a real human being.
Q: I am a 72-year-old widow. I get two Social Security payments each month. One is my own Social Security check and the other is a widow’s payment. I have no problem with that. But I have a neighbor who also is a widow. She also has her own Social Security. But she gets just one check for the combined amount of her own Social Security benefit and her widow’s benefit. I am just curious. Can you explain why I get two checks but my neighbor just gets one check?
A: I am going to guess that you and your husband came from different parts of the country, while your neighbor and her husband were from roughly the same area.
And why that is an issue with your Social Security checks has to do with how the Social Security Administration handles and processes Social Security claims.
As you probably know, there are a wide range of Social Security numbers, almost all of them starting in the 001 to 600 range. Those numbers are assigned based on where you were living when you applied for a Social Security card. For example, my Social Security number starts with 394. And you can check SSA’s website and learn that 394 numbers were issued in Wisconsin. Lower numbers were issued on the East Coast, and they got progressively higher going down the Atlantic seaboard and then farther and farther west.
SSA has seven processing centers around the country, where all Social Security claims — whether taken in local Social Security offices or over the phone or online — eventually end up. And claims are distributed to these processing centers based on the Social Security number. I don’t know the precise breakdown, but for example, there is a processing center in New York that handles all claims with SSNs in roughly the 001 through 199 range. Another center in Birmingham, Alabama, handles cases with numbers in the 200 range. A center in Chicago handles the 300 numbers. And so on.
Now getting back to your question. Let’s say that you are originally from the East Coast and have a SSN that begins 009. And your husband was from the Midwest and has a number that begins with 337. Your Social Security claim would have been sent to New York, and your Social Security checks are authorized by that processing center. Your widow’s claim on your husband’s Social Security record would have gone to Chicago, and so your widow’s benefit checks come from there.
On the other hand, your neighbor and her husband must have come from the same general area. So both her retirement claim on her own SSN and her widow’s claim on her husband’s SSN went to the same processing center, and they were able to simply combine her payments into one check.
Q: I’m the kind of guy who likes to see things in black and white directly from the source before I believe them. When it comes to Social Security, I’m not saying I don’t believe what you say. But I’d like to see the rules and regulations you discuss in your column in writing from the Social Security Administration. I am having a hard time finding source information on Social Security’s website. Can you help?
A: I can steer you to two sources of information from SSA. One is something called the Programs Operations Manual System. It’s essentially the bible for the rules and regulations that govern Social Security programs and policies. It’s the same source every SSA employee uses. To find POMS, go to www.socialsecurity.gov, pull down the “Menu” button at the top of the homepage and under “Research Policy and Planning” click on the “Program Rules” link and then on “Employee Operating Instructions.”
But if you want something a little less comprehensive and a much easier to understand, then I suggest you look through one or more of the hundreds of pamphlets and fact sheets the agency produces. You’ll find this source material at SSA’s website under the “Publications” link near the bottom of the homepage.
