Some people applying for Social Security and SSI may soon find the process easier.
Starting in December, first-time applicants between the ages of 18 and almost 65 who never married and are concurrently applying for Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, will have access to an online, streamlined iClaim application process.
According to the Social Security Administration, the new site will utilize “user-tested, plain-language questions, prepopulated answers where possible, seamless step-by-step transitions, and more.”
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Officials said the online application will reduce the time spent applying and the processing time for initial claim decisions.
“Over the past year, we have asked many applicants and advocates – as well as our workforce – how we could make the SSI application process easier and simpler. Now, we are taking an important first step to do just that,” Martin O’Malley, Commissioner of Social Security, said in a statement. “People in our communities who need this crucial safety net deserve the dignity of an application process that is less burdensome and more accessible than what we now have, and we’re committed to achieving that vision over the next few years.”
Information from the streamlined process will be used to simplify in-person, phone, mobile, and paper-based application processes. The agency said it also plans to develop a simplified child SSI application.
SSI is a program that provides monthly benefits to adults and children with a disability or blindness and with limited income and seniors age 65 and older who meet financial qualifications. Some SSI recipients also receive Social Security benefits. According to the agency, more than 7.5 million people receive SSI benefits with the average monthly payment of $622.