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YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY Rock Island, Illinois Office

By Cristina Vital
Social Security Manager
Rock Island Social Security Office

SOCIAL SECURITY DELIVERS THE MOST POPULAR BABY NAMES FOR ILLINOIS IN 2015

See the list at www.socialsecurity.gov

The Social Security Administration today announced the most popular baby names in Illinois for 2015. Noah and Olivia topped the list.

The top five boys and girls names for 2015 in Illinois were:

Carolyn W. Colvin, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, announced last week that Noah and Emma were the most popular baby names in the U.S.  How does Illinois compare to the rest of the country?  Check out Social Security’s website — www.socialsecurity.gov— to see the top national baby names for 2015.

Like a name, Social Security is with you through life’s journey.  For future parents who need some inspiration and help with naming their baby, Social Security is unveiling a new baby names quiz at Social Security Matters, the agency’s interactive blog located at http://blog.socialsecurity.gov.  At the blog, people can find information on retirement, disability, and survivors benefits, online services, and much more.

As she does each year, Acting Commissioner Colvin encourages everyone to visit the agency’s website, have fun with the baby names list, and create a my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount.  my Social Security is a personalized online account that people can use beginning in their working years and continuing throughout the time they receive Social Security benefits.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries can have instant access to their benefit verification letter, payment history, and complete earnings record by establishing a my Social Security account. Beneficiaries also can change their address, start or change direct deposit information, and print a replacement SSA-1099 online. People receiving Social Security can request a replacement Medicare card online.

Individuals age 18 and older who are not receiving benefits can also sign up for a my Social Security account to get their personalized online Social Security Statement. The online Statement provides workers with secure and convenient access to their Social Security earnings and benefit information, and estimates of future benefits they can use to plan for their retirement.

In addition to each state’s top baby names, Social Security’s website has a list of the 1,000 most popular boys’ and girls’ names for 2015 and offers lists of baby names for each year since 1880.

To read about this year’s winner for the biggest jump in popularity and to see how pop culture affects baby names, go to https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/.

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS U.S. CITIZENS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

Over half a million people who live outside the United States receive some kind of Social Security benefit, including retired and disabled workers, as well as spouses, widows,
widowers, and children.

If you’re a U.S. citizen, you may receive your Social Security payments outside the United States as long as you are eligible. When we say you are “outside the United States,” we mean you’re not in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa. Once you’ve been outside the United States for at least 30 days in a row, we consider you to be outside the country.

IF you are traveling outside the U.S. for an extended amount of time, it’s important that you tell Social Security the date you plan to leave and the date you plan to come back, no matter how long you expect your travel to last. Then we can let you know whether your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will be affected.

You can use this online tool to find out if you can continue to receive your Social Security benefits if you are outside the United States or are planning to go outside the United States at www.socialsecurity.gov/international/payments_outsideUS.html.
This tool will help you find out if your retirement, disability, or survivor’s payments will continue as long as you are eligible, stop after six consecutive calendar months, or if certain country specific restrictions apply.

When you live outside the United States, periodically we’ll send you a questionnaire. Your answers will help us figure out if you still are eligible for benefits. Return the questionnaire to the office that sent it as soon as possible. If you don’t, your payments will stop. In addition to responding to the questionnaire, notify us promptly about changes that could affect your payments.

You can also read the publication titled Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs.
Social Security is with you through life’s journey, even if that journey takes you outside the United States.