Your Social Security

By DAVID BROWN

At Social Security, we are committed to providing the best possible information to the diverse communities we serve.

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

That's why Social Security offers materials in Spanish, the second-most-common language in the United States after English. Our goal is to help all Americans understand Social Security and how it relates to them. In an effort to help the Hispanic community, we offer a number of materials in Spanish, including:

- www.segurosocial.gov/espanol - A comprehensive Web site that provides valuable Social Security information on our programs, benefits, and services.

- Social Security Statement - The statement is available in Spanish upon request - just visit www.ssa.gov/espanol/declaracion/howto7004_sp.html . The statement provides a personalized estimate of the worker's future Social Security retirement and disability benefits, and survivors benefits that the worker's family could receive should the worker die. The Statement also contains an annual breakdown of the worker's earnings history. It is mailed each year to workers over the age of 25 who are not receiving Social Security benefits yet.

- Online Calculators - Benefit calculators that provide estimates of future Social Security retirement benefits at different ages. You can find the online calculators at www.segurosocial.gov/OACT/quickcalc/index-esp.html.

- Public Information Materials - Social Security publications, forms, notices, letters, articles, posters, displays and other items.

- Free Interpreter Services - We are able to conduct Social Security business in more than 100 languages, upon request.

- Automated Phone Services - Available 24 hours a day by calling our toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Service representatives also are available to answer specific questions in Spanish from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

In addition to these services in Spanish, we also maintain a Multilanguage Gateway online. The Gateway provides Social Security publications and information in 14 other languages besides English and Spanish. The languages include Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, French, Greek, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog and Vietnamese. You can visit the site at www.socialsecurity.gov/multilanguage.

If you or someone you know finds it easier to read complicated information in Spanish or a language other than English, rest assured that at Social Security, we speak your language.