Social Security adds adviser info to site

NEW YORK — After receiving suggestions from financial professionals, the Social Security Administration has designated a section of its website specifically for advisers.
Located at socialsecurity .gov/financialplanners, the web page links to resources about retirement, disability, taxation of Social Security benefits and theft of a Social Security number.
“We are confident this new web page will help you and your clients find what they are looking for faster and more efficiently,” the Social Security Administration wrote in a letter to 900 financial planners this month. It suggested that advisers add the link to their own websites and use it when dealing with retirement issues.
An official with the Social Security Administration said there was a strong demand for the new service.
“In our dealings with financial advisers, we agreed that there should be a place on our website for them,” said Mark Hinkle, spokesman for the Social Security Administration in Baltimore. “This [website] should be a one-stop-shopping portal for financial advisers and their clients that fits into the retirement planning and financial planning aspect [of their interactions].”
The website features several calculators for determining retirement eligibility and the optimal time to start receiving retirement and other benefits. It also includes links to apply for benefits, check claim status and apply for disability or survivor benefits.
“We think it is a great idea that the Social Security Administration provides tools for advisers, as well as individual investors and consumers,” said Thomas Orecchio, chairman-elect of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisers in Arlington Heights, Ill., and a principal at Greenbaum & Orecchio Inc. in Old Tappan, N.J.