One thing that is always a struggle when assisting clients with Social Security disability claims is getting the status on a claim. Routinely we will call Social Security or send letters asking for the status of a claim, but this is far from efficient. It is very difficult to get someone from Social Security on the phone and many times our status letters go unanswered, but hopefully that will change now that Social Security will launch a new online service that allows people to check the status of their current claims.
Beginning this month Social Security will provide the online service through its my Social Security program where people can sign-up for online accounts and get access to their Social Security information.
This is welcome news for anyone who has ever tried getting a response from Social Security about the status of a claim, but we will have to wait and see how well the new service works. There are a few problems already, mainly a majority of people have not signed up for my Social Security accounts yet and there is no information from Social Security about how often updates will be provided if someone has a claim for retirement, disability or survivor’s benefits. According to Social Security, the following information will be available to claimants:
- Date of filing;
- Current claim location;
- Scheduled hearing date and time;
- Re-entry numbers for incomplete applications;
- Servicing office location; and
- Claim or appeal decision.
“Providing our customers with more claim status information helps us meet our goal of delivering innovative, quality services to you and helping security today and tomorrow,” Doug Walker, deputy commissioner of communications for Social Security wrote in a blog post.
To learn more about this new service click here.
