Ombudsman assists woman seeking Social Security retirement benefits

The Ombudsman Office.

The Ombudsman Office.

Editor’s note: The Dayton Ombudsman Office provides weekly columns to the Dayton Daily News to bring awareness to issues it sees in the community.

Recently a woman contacted the Ombudsman concerning information about her application for Social Security benefits. The benefit she is seeking is retirement. The woman applied online on May 15. The woman added that it has been over 60 days, and she has not received any acknowledgement that her application was accepted or approved. She asked the Ombudsman for intervention.

The Ombudsman contacted staff at the Social Security Administration. It was reported that 60 days is a normal response time. The confirmation of receipt to an online application would have been received online immediately after submission. The fact that the application is still “pending” indicates that the award letter has not yet been prepared.

The very next day the complainant called the Ombudsman to report that she received a phone call from a staff person at the SSA that her application was being worked on. Our caller was pleased that things were progressing as she had requested for her start date for benefits.

The Ombudsman Column, a production of the Joint Office of Citizens’ Complaints, summarizes selected problems that citizens have had with government services, schools and nursing homes in the Dayton area. Contact the Ombudsman by writing to us at 11 W. Monument Ave., Suite 606, Dayton 45402, call 937-223- 4613, or by electronic mail at ombudsman@dayton-ombudsman.org.

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