The Social Security Administration announced the first of several steps the agency is taking to improve the public’s experience on its website. The newly redesigned retirement benefits portal, at ssa.gov/benefits/retirement,
will help millions of people prepare for and apply for retirement.
The redesigned portal will make it easier for people to find and read about Social Security retirement benefits, with fewer pages and condensed, rewritten, and
clearer information. The portal also is optimized for mobile devices so people can learn and do what they want from wherever they want, and the portal now includes
the ability to subscribe to receive retirement information and updates. Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security, says, “Our new retirement portal is
more user-friendly and easier to navigate, whether someone is ready to learn about, apply for, or manage their retirement benefits.”
More improvements to Social Security’s website are planned for later in 2020 as the agency seeks to continuously improve the public experience at www.socialsecurity.gov. You can find the agency’s press release here.
A Motley Fool article has more
details about one new feature: the ability to designate a representative payee. In fact, you have the opportunity to choose up to three individuals who could serve
in this role. A representative payee is someone who receives and manages your Social Security payments on your behalf if you become unable to manage them yourself.
A representative payee could be an individual or an organization. If you haven’t chosen someone, one will need to be appointed for you if you become unable to
act on your own accord in handling your money from Social Security. For most people, it makes sense to select someone they trust to act in this important role in case the worst
happens and they need help managing their money. Both capable adults and emancipated minors are now allowed to use Social Security’s new tool to advance designate representative payees.