What is the Social Security Administration (SSA) good for? A typical first response would be “helping seniors weather the costs of retirement,” and that’s certainly true. But that’s not all it does.
As with Social Security itself, many Americans don’t understand exactly how the agency running the federal program works — or how to take full advantage of it.
Following are several free services you may not realize the SSA provides.
1. Help with Medicare drug costs
Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors, is technically administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
However, Social Security helps keep things simple by handling enrollment in Medicare Parts A and B.
It also handles applications for Extra Help, a program that lowers the cost of Medicare Part D for eligible seniors. That’s the part of Medicare that pays for prescription drugs.
2. Proof of income
In certain situations, such as when applying for government assistance, an apartment, mortgage or some other loan, you might be required to provide proof of income.
One piece of evidence might come from the SSA, in what’s called a Social Security Benefit Verification Letter.
Contrary to what the name suggests, you don’t need to be receiving benefits to get one. In fact, as the SSA website points out, these letters can also be used as proof that you don’t receive benefits or haven’t in the past.
3. Baby name ideas
While it may never have occurred to you, the SSA naturally has a wealth of information about the names of Americans — it has to put them on all the cards, after all.
So if you’re curious about the most popular baby names in the country, the SSA has information going all the way back to 1880. You can find out the most frequently given names in a given year, decade, or over the past century, even broken down by state.
4. Calculators for many common questions
The prospect of retirement raises lots of questions: How long will I live? When should I stop working? How much money can I get from the government in various scenarios?
The SSA maintains several calculators to help with these questions and more.
5. Employment income data
Have you ever had a “back in my day” conversation with someone about your first job?
The SSA can tell you exactly how much you earned in any given year in your online record of earnings.
Even if you’re not interested in a little trip down memory lane, you should still regularly check your earnings record to ensure it is accurate.
As we explain in “10 Social Security Terms Everyone Should Know by Now,” it can get harder to correct any possible errors over time, due to the loss of your tax records and employer information.
6. Representative payees
Sometimes people become unable to manage the money they are receiving from Social Security or Supplemental Security Income. In those cases, Social Security can appoint what is called a representative payee to manage money on their behalf.
You can designate a few people you trust to be your payee should the need arise. Or, as necessary, the SSA can choose for you among friends, family or qualified organizations.
7. Coordinating international retirement benefits
If you decide to retire abroad or spend part of your career in another country — or, if you came to live and work in the U.S. after growing up in another country — the Social Security Administration can help you figure out your benefits in both places.
This is because the U.S. has bilateral agreements in place with many other countries to avoid double taxation and benefit gaps that presume a full career in one country.
It also provides information about how foreign pension funds affect Social Security.
8. Legal and other referrals
Your local Social Security office can also point you toward local support services, including nonprofit groups that provide legal aid and meal assistance.
You can search for a local office by ZIP code here, and then click the link at the bottom of the page for “other groups.”
9. Career development for people with disabilities
Social Security also offers the Ticket to Work program, which provides those with disability benefits the opportunity for work and job training. These free services include job coaching, counseling, job placement and more.
10. Lesson plans and Social Security education
The Social Security Administration, naturally, offers lots of information about its program. But it goes a lot further than you might think with outreach — including offering lesson plans and quizzes to teach students to start thinking about retirement from a younger age and providing free public speakers.
There is also a guide for helping friends and family figure out benefits and the other various services offered by Social Security.
