YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
By DAVID BROWN

Social Security recently announced an expansion of our "Multilanguage Gateway" on the Internet. Visitors to www.socialsecurity.gov/multilanguage will now find an additional 30 Social Security program publications. These online publications provide detailed and useful information about Social Security retirement, disability and survivor benefits, the Supplemental Security Income program and the Social Security card and number - in 15 languages. The Multilanguage Gateway languages are: Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

The Spanish language page, "Seguro Social en Español" at www.segurosocial.gov/espanol, is even more extensive, offering over 65 publications in Spanish, as well as benefit calculators, press releases and frequently asked questions.

Social Security understands the ongoing need to provide information and services to the public in languages other than English. To meet this demand, we have worked hard during the past few years to increase hiring of bilingual employees in our 1,300 field offices across the country. We strive to have staff who reflect the various backgrounds of the community that they serve and who are able to speak languages common to the area where the office is located.

Part of this effort involves providing free interpreter services in more than 100 languages to help conduct Social Security business, whether you talk to us by phone or visit us in the Social Security office.

Here's how the phone service option works. When you call our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213, press 2 if you speak Spanish. For all other languages, press 1 and stay on the line until a representative answers. An interpreter will be contacted to help with your call. If your business cannot be completed by phone, we will make an appointment for you at a local Social Security office and arrange for an interpreter to provide assistance at the time of your visit.

Whether it is via the Internet, through face-to-face office visits or through our national 800 number, Social Security remains committed to providing quality service to an increasingly more diverse American public.

Mr. Brown is District Manager of the Social Security Administration's Downtown New York Office.