Illinois taxpayers who were upset when the Social Security Administration stopped mailing out annual personalized statements last year might be excited about the SSA’s new online resources. A new Social Security Statement tool recently launched that will allow taxpayers to see all of their Social Security disability and retirement information at their leisure.
Additionally, the SSA has changed course a bit and decided to mail paper statements to those workers who are not yet receiving benefits and are 60 or older.
Chicago residents simply need to go to the SSA’s website to create an account in order to access the online statements. In order to create an account, residents need to be at least 18, have an e-mail address and a mailing address, and a Social Security number.
Once an account is set up, it is possible to see the Social Security and Medicare taxes that you have paid over your career as well as well as review topics in case you are planning to apply for disability benefits. It is also possible to apply for Social Security disability insurance benefits right on the website.
However, many people are wise to seek professional guidance before submitting a disability application. Those who do decide to apply online may wish to seek counsel if their application is initially denied, as it is often possible–though very tedious–to file a successful appeal.
One valuable element of the online Social Security statements is the fact that it is making it very accessible for people to review their on-file information periodically. It may be beneficial for Illinois residents to review this information annually to ensure that the taxable earnings and other information has been reported correctly–if not, it could be possible to be shortchanged if one becomes disabled or retires and it is generally best to catch these inaccuracies sooner than later.
Source: Minuteman News Center, “Social Security statements now available online,” Jason Alderman, Aug. 29, 2012
- Our law firm practices Social Security Disability Law. To learn more about our firm, please visit our Chicago Social Security Disability page.
Tags: Social Security Administration, Social Security Disability, Social Security statement
