YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
By DAVID BROWN

Social Security has introduced a new home page design - at www.socialsecurity.gov - and it is even easier to use than its highly-acclaimed predecessor.

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

Because more and more people are doing business on the Internet, Social Security is committed to making it easy for you to conduct your Social Security business online. The redesigned home page will help you find what you are looking for faster and more efficiently.

Some of the more noticeable changes to Social Security's home page include: - Easier access to Frequently Asked Questions, one of our most popular features; - More drop-down menus instead of long lists of links; - A search box located directly on the home page

- A more visible log-in button for people who already receive benefits and have a password; and

- A quick reference list of links to our most popular online services.

Our most frequently used online services include applying for benefits online, replacing a lost, stolen or damaged Medicare card, requesting a proof of Social Security income letter, changing your address or phone number, and finding the nearest Social Security office.

Another popular feature is our list of Frequently Asked Questions. This service alone gets 27 million visitors each year. The questions and answers are easy to find and can be searched by specific subject matter.

In 2006, more than 50 million people visited the Social Security Web site - www.socialsecurity.gov. In 2007, we expect that number to grow, and visitors to the site will find it easier to navigate and more responsive to their searches for specific subjects.