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Social Security (Part 5): When You Are Ready to Apply for Benefits

You should apply for benefits about 3 months before the date you want your benefits to start. If you are not quite ready to retire, but are thinking about doing so in the near future, you may want to visit the U.S. Social Security Administration's (SSA's) Web site to use the retirement planner (http://www.socialsecurity.gov/retire2/). To file for disability or survivors benefits, you should apply as soon as you are eligible.

Apply for benefits on the SSA's Web site at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline/. You also can calculate your benefit amount at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/planners/.

What You Will Need to Apply

When you apply for benefits, the SSA will ask you to provide certain documents. The documents they will ask for depend on the type of benefits for which you are filing. Providing these documents quickly will help the SSA pay your benefits faster. You must submit original documents or copies certified by the issuing office—they cannot accept photocopies.

Do not delay filing an application just because you do not have all of the documents you need. The SSA will help you get them.

Here is a list of some documents you may need when you sign up for Social Security:

  • Your Social Security card (or a record of your number)
  • Your birth certificate
  • Your children's birth certificates and Social Security numbers (if you are applying for them)
  • Proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status if you (or a child) were not born in the United States
  • Your spouse's birth certificate and Social Security number if he or she is applying for benefits based on your earnings
  • Marriage certificate (if signing up on a spouse's earnings or if your spouse is signing up on your earnings)
  • Your military discharge papers if you had military service
  • Your most recent W-2 form, or your tax return, if you are self-employed

The SSA will let you know if other documents are needed when you apply.

How Benefits Are Paid

Social Security benefits generally are paid by direct deposit. Direct deposit is a simple, safe, and secure way to receive your benefits. Be sure to have your checkbook or account statement with you when you apply. That information will be needed to make sure your monthly benefit is correctly deposited into your account.

If you do not want direct deposit, you might consider signing up for the Direct Express® card program. With Direct Express®, payments are made directly to the card. Or you may want to consider an Electronic Transfer Account that gives you the safety, security and convenience of automatic payments.

U.S. Social Security Administration. (Updated 2014, January). In Understanding the benefits (SSA Publication No. 05-10024). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from http://www.socialsecurity.gov/

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