Social Security: Apply Now Online

Baby boomers have lived through the assassinations of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Martin Luther King Jr., the race to the moon and the Communist threat, Watergate and a few wars. Along the way, most became comfortable using computers and the Internet.

Now, as they ease into their golden years, they’ll be part of another change: They’ll be the first generation who can apply for their Social Security benefits online.

The Social Security Administration recently announced that people who reach retirement age, as early as 62, can go to the federal agency’s Web site and fill out a benefits application.

The agency said the push to offer online enrollment will help it manage a flood of retirement requests in coming years. Officials estimate that as many as 10,000 people a day will become eligible for retirement benefits over the next 20 years, as the first post-World War II generation eases into retirement.

A link to the online retirement application is featured at www.socialsecurity.gov.

Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for the agency, said the push to move the retirement benefits application — and other applications — to the Web is vital.

The agency’s 1,300 field offices won’t be able to handle the crush of baby boomers signing up for benefits in the future, so automating the process via the Web will help employees manage the workload, he said.

Read the whole story.

Click here for link to the online retirement application is at www.socialsecurity.gov.

Category: Baby Boomers, Retirement