Dear Editor:
Every week in one of my favorite online newspapers thee is a column with a web guide to “hot sites” on the Internet. I find it impossible to resist. I visit every site to see if there is truly something that is interesting or worthwhile. Often there is. But I don’t think I wold be exaggerating to say that for simple, practical, need-to-know, useful information, Social Security’s web site is hard to beat.
Let me give you a list of places you can go to on our web site and you can judge for yourself.
www.socialsecurity.gov/applyforbenefits — allows you to file for retirement, spouse’s and disability benefits online from the comfort and convenience of your home.
www.socialsecurity.gov/planners — helps you make financial plans for your future, which is so important for everyone. It tells you about retirement, disability and survivors benefits, and also provides calculators you can use to estimate future Social Security benefits.
www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber – takes you to a page that provides all kinds of useful information about the Social Security number. You can even download the form you need to request a new or replacement Social Security card.
www.socialsecurity.gov/beve – has a convenient online service for people who need to request a letter from Social Security stating the amount of their benefits to show to other agencies in order to obtain their services.
www.socialsecurity.gov/multilanguage – is a site that provides important Social Security information in 15 different languages.
www.socialsecurity.gov/women – opens a page called For Women that provides basic Social Security program information of interest to women of all ages in all of life’s situations (new bride, new mom, divorced spouse, etc.)
www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/babynames/ — tells you the most popular names for babies born in 2002 – or in any year for the past 120 years. Most people cannot resist the urge to see where their own names rank on these lists. What do you think? I’m betting that at least a couple of these pages have made their way to your own “hot sites” list.
Yvonne Bryant
Social Security Manager
Jersey City