AARP Hearing Center
Many of the hundreds of thousands of Americans with vision loss who receive specially formatted notices from the Social Security Administration (SSA) will stop getting them this summer unless they act now to continue this service.
For more than a decade, the SSA has offered visually impaired beneficiaries special notice options (SNO) to receive communications in formats such as large print, braille and CD. Even those who chose, via online My Social Security accounts, to no longer get printed letters from the SSA could still receive special notices in their chosen format, along with an online message.
Starting Aug. 14, these Americans will get only the online version of SSA messages unless they or someone assisting them logs in to their account and opts in for paper mailings. Those who do so will continue receiving special notices in their preferred format as well as online notices in the Message Center of their My Social Security account.
How to Keep Your SNO
If you're a Social Security beneficiary with vision loss, you can take these steps to keep your special notice option intact:
- Log in to your My Social Security account.
- Go to Preferences and click on the button to edit Communication Preferences.
- Set your communication preference to “Send a paper copy and an online copy.”
Your special notice will continue to be provided in the format you previously selected, along with online notices via the My Social Security Message Center.
The SSA says the change reflects how most My Social Security users want to receive official communication.
"The agency began planning for this initiative several years ago, as it aligns with our agency strategic plan as well as customer preference,” SSA spokeswoman Nicole Tiggemann explained in an email.
"This change does have the potential to save some money for the agency, but we expect minimal savings in the short term,” she said. “The focus is on customizable service-delivery options."
Experts: Change is ‘concerning'
About a half million people use special notice options, according to data from the SSA. More than 388,000 do so in large print. Nearly 47,000 have opted for a phone call, about 27,500 for a certified letter, 23,000 for a data or audio CD, and about 11,700 for braille communications.
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