By Bill Archer
BLUEFIELD — The generation of Americans who were born in the years following the end of World War II are rapidly moving toward retirement age, and in some cases, are already there. While earlier generations lived in a paper-driven world, filled with handshakes, face-to-face meetings and doing business over lunch, many of the so-called “Baby Boomers” born from 1946-1960 have made the transition into the electronic age and already conduct a lot of business online.
Many recent retirees — not just baby boomers, are becoming proficient with computers even though they grew up with rotary dial phones and pinball machines instead of PlayStations and text messaging. The Social Security Administration has been working for several years to streamline the online process of registering for retirement benefits as well as making changes and learning more about possible benefits. The Internet has changed many aspects of modern life and it is rapidly removing a major hurdle Americans face when they sign up for Social Security retirement benefits.
“There is so much you can do at Social Security’s website from the convenience of your home or office,” Sandy Davis, Social Security district manager in Bluefield said. “The public is learning more about electronic communications all of the time. People can prepare for retirement online at (www.socialsecurity.gov./ planners), file for retirement benefits (www.socialsecurity .gov/retireonline), make a change of address (www. socialsecurity.gov) use our retirement estimator (www. socialsecurity.gov/estimator) and apply for disability benefits (www.socialsecurity.gov/applyfordisability).
“When people use the online services, they can do it at their own convenience,” Davis said. “If they are working through a lengthy form they can set it aside and come back to it later when it’s more convenient for them. If they come to the office, some forms can take a long time.”
Although she said that older Americans were among the last to get involved in the Internet, “Americans love their computers,” Davis said. “Nearly half of all Americans have a high-speed Internet connection at home compared to only five percent at the start of the decade. As Americans become increasingly more comfortable with the security and convenience of doing things on the Internet, online business is becoming more and more popular.”
According to Davis, Social Security has done a great deal to make online services easy to access and use, and the customer satisfaction rating has been high. The Bluefield office serves Mercer County, as well as Buchanan, Tazewell, Bland and Giles counties in Virginia. Although the area the Bluefield office serves is mostly rural and mountainous in some areas, in September alone, 23.6 percent of the people seeking Social Security services from the Bluefield office filed online. That figure compares well to the national average of 27 percent online filings in September. In addition, 20.9 percent of the disability claims at the Bluefield office were filed online.
Davis said that personnel in the office continue to review the online filings to ensure that everything is correct. “It is an increase in our workload, but the online services really helps the public,” she said. “We expect to see more and more people retiring in the years ahead, and the online services really speeds the processes along.”
Davis said that individuals as well as third parties can file appeals online. “We’re encouraging many lawyers who file appeals on behalf of their clients to file online,” she said.
To illustrate the growth in online services with Social Security, Davis said that the launch of the online component came in 2000, and Social Security had served its first one million customers in 2007. “During the past two years, we made it to our second millionth claim online,” Davis said. “In some metro areas, the numbers of online filings are ahead of ours, but we’re doing pretty good with our percentages.”
Debbie Crist, an operations supervisor at the Bluefield office said that office staff members continue to serve the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., each weekday. “We really get busy with retirements at the end of the calendar year when many people retire, and also in June when people who worked in the school system retire,” Crist said. “Of the two times, We see our heaviest volume of retirees in June.”
Sherry Phillips, also an operations supervisor at the Bluefield office said that office personnel can provide help, but added that the Social Security main website, (www.socialsecurity.gov) is easy to use and provides step-by-step instructions to help online users. “There’s a lot of information on line,” Phillips said.
– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com
