Business Columnists

When in Doubt, File a Claim

When in Doubt, File a Claim
People line up outside of the Social Security Administration office in San Francisco, Calif., on Feb. 2, 2005. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Tom Margenau
|Updated:

I’m going to start this column at the bottom! Or, rather, with the bottom-line message I want to deliver today: Whenever you think you might be due any kind of Social Security benefit, insist on filing a claim for that benefit. You have every right to do so. Before I clarify that message, let me give you some background.

For part of my 32-year career with the Social Security Administration, I was a claims intake person. In other words, it was my job to help people file claims for various kinds of Social Security benefits. Many times, a person’s potential eligibility for benefits is fairly cut and dried. For example, if you were 62 years old and not working and showed up at my desk to file for retirement benefits, I would have immediately whipped out the retirement application and helped you fill it out.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
Related Topics