Starting in December, first-time applicants between the ages of 18 and almost 65 who never married and are concurrently applying for Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, will have access to an online, streamlined iClaim application process.

The Social Security Administration is hoping to make applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) a whole lot easier, announcing it will start offering online, streamlined applications for some applicants as soon as December.

The SSA is looking to simplify the process by introducing the iClaim expansion, which aims to establish a fully online application. Officials said the online application will reduce the time spent applying and the processing time for initial claim decisions.

The iClaim Expansion for SSI release is the first step to address longstanding requests from the public and the advocate community to make the SSI application easier and more accessible across all our service channels. This release will:

• Add SSI specific questions to determine basic eligibility. 
• Prepopulate answers based on information already in our records and provided by the applicant. 
• Remove the non-U.S. citizen online filing exclusion. 
• Clarify the application process by incorporating new screens focused on Income and Resources information.

The much-needed improvements mentioned are just for the first phase of SSI simplification. 

“Over the past year, we have asked many applicants and advocates—as well as our workforce—how we could make the SSI application process easier and simpler. Now, we are taking an important first step to do just that,” said Martin O’Malley, commissioner of Social Security, in a news release.

“People in our communities who need this crucial safety net deserve the dignity of an application process that is less burdensome and more accessible than what we now have, and we’re committed to achieving that vision over the next few years,” O’Malley added.

Information from the streamlined process will be used to simplify in-person, phone, mobile, and paper-based application processes. The agency said it also plans to develop a simplified child SSI application.

SSI is a program that provides monthly benefits to adults and children with a disability or blindness and with limited income and seniors age 65 and older who meet financial qualifications. Some SSI recipients also receive Social Security benefits. According to the agency, more than 7.5 million people receive SSI benefits with the average monthly payment of $622 and, in many states (including Mississippi), automatic Medicaid insurance eligibility.

The agency is planning on expanding the online application process to all applicants in the near future.

For the SSA Release, click here.