When Grandma Needs Help Managing Her Social Security Benefits

When Grandma Needs Help Managing Her Social Security Benefits
If Grandma is still in a good mental state, then she—with whatever help you can give her—is going to have to take care of her own Social Security business.Fei Meng
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This is going to be a column about people who need help managing their Social Security affairs.

People frequently send me emails about this topic. A typical email might go something like this: “My 90-year-old grandmother has a hard time getting around and managing all of her affairs. I had myself granted power of attorney so that I can help her do things. But when I recently called Social Security to change my grandma’s direct deposit address for her Social Security checks, they said my grandma had to do it herself. Don’t they understand what ‘power of attorney’ means?”

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]
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