January 16 was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — a national holiday and a day of remembrance. Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life to creating and fostering equal rights for African Americans, and he died during his efforts to make his dream a reality.
Many people commemorate this holiday by serving their community and giving to others who may be less fortunate. In many ways, this is what Social Security does every day, all year long.
A great way to be of service to others is to help someone you know who may need assistance applying for Social Security, Medicare, or Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug costs. This is easy to do at www.socialsecurity.gov.
Some people who need these benefits may not be comfortable with computers or may not even know applying online is an option. But now, it’s easier than ever to apply for such benefits from the convenience of a home computer at www.socialsecurity.gov.
For example, it’s easy to apply for retirement benefits at www.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline. It can take as little as 15 minutes from start to finish. Once the application is electronically submitted, in most cases, there is nothing more to do.
It’s even easier to apply for Medicare, for people who do not plan to begin their Social Security retirement payments yet but who do want Medicare coverage. The application takes about 10 minutes and you can find it at www.socialsecurity.gov/medicareonly.
People who already have Medicare coverage, but who need help meeting prescription drug costs, can apply for Extra Help online at www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp.
Whether you spent the holiday taking a trip to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C. or read or listened to a recording of his legendary I Have a Dream speech, we encourage you to use this holiday as a reminder to lend to hand to someone who can use your help. Lead them to www.socialsecurity.gov. It may be easy for you, but it may help someone you love realize their own dreams.
