Connie SSA

[Guest guest]

Connie,

 You certainly can schlep down to the SSA office, or you can go online and use

the same tool that the person sitting in the office will use.  This tool is

called the Benefit Eligibility Search Tool.  You enter information on your age,

income, marriage, divorce etc and the tool will tell you what benefits you are

eligible to apply for.  I am not sure about you, but when I was very ill, and

depressed,( I described it as " if my house were burning around me I don't think

I could make a decision to leave the house.  I made numerous appointments with

SSA and canceled them because I was sick.  I wish someone would have told me

" hey, you can do all of this online " . 

The website for the eligibility tool is

http://connections.govbenefits.gov/ssa_en.portal or you can simply go to the

ssa.gov sight and type in Benefits 

If it says that you are eligible for either SSI or SSDI , you can set up an

appointment either to fill out SSI (which can not be done online) via the phone

(they call you at a certain time and phone number) or you can go to the local

office, its up to you. 

I chose to not go to the SSA office as I could not sit for that period of time.

Deb RN

 Debra

[Guest guest]

Debra wrote:

> Connie,

> You certainly can schlep down to the SSA office, or you can go online and use

the same tool that the person sitting in the office will use. This tool is

called the Benefit Eligibility Search Tool. You enter information on your age,

income, marriage, divorce etc and the tool will tell you what benefits you are

eligible to apply for. I am not sure about you, but when I was very ill, and

depressed,( I described it as " if my house were burning around me I don't think

I could make a decision to leave the house. I made numerous appointments with

SSA and canceled them because I was sick. I wish someone would have told me

" hey, you can do all of this online " .

>

> The website for the eligibility tool is

http://connections.govbenefits.gov/ssa_en.portal or you can simply go to the

ssa.gov sight and type in Benefits

>

> If it says that you are eligible for either SSI or SSDI , you can set up an

appointment either to fill out SSI (which can not be done online) via the phone

(they call you at a certain time and phone number) or you can go to the local

office, its up to you.

Connie,

I found the SSA representative to give me more information than the online tool

and I could ask them things I could not ask online.

I was able to make my appointments late in the afternoon and take a pillow, they

also allow you to put your legs up as I did.

I was glad to get the info I did and filed with them right there without having

to wait to get more info to add to you info. so I equate

it to going to see a doctor online, if you ask the right questions or your

questions are the one on the site, you are okay but

if you have any others, you can just forget it and you will be placed on hold.

This is like compairing apples and oranges, you can

ask a representatives questions, you cannot as a website questions. Of course,

Deb will have an answer for that, but go down there,

Connie, I got approved the first time and that was the reason time as the guy

helped me make sure I had everything I needed even

the optional stuff and take the stuff the online site says you don't have to

take. Bennie