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YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY | West / Mid-West Region

Social Security Continues to Provide Ways for the Public to Request Accommodations and File Civil Rights (Program Discrimination) Complaints

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to access its programs, activities, and facilities, regardless of disability, in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In addition, SSA has taken steps to ensure that no person is discriminated against on the basis of disability, race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion or retaliation (e.g., for filing a previous complaint), in any program or activity conducted by SSA. In compliance with the Rehabilitation Act, SSA has long maintained methods for the public to request accommodations and file civil rights complaints.

Request for Accommodation:

Members of the public can request an accommodation through various methods:

• Visit or call a local field office or hearing office, as they are the main points of contact for individuals interacting with SSA. Local field offices can be found by using the locator at www.ssa.gov/locator/. Local hearing offices can be found using the locator at
  www.ssa.gov/appeals/ho_locator.html.
• Call the agency at 1-800-772-1213 between 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday.
• Email the agency at Section.504.public.inquiry@ssa.gov.

Civil Rights (Program Discrimination) Complaints:

Members of the public may file a complaint of alleged program discrimination through various methods:

• Email the agency at civil.rights.program.complaint.intake@ssa.gov.
• Submit the Program Discrimination Complaint Form (SSA-437-BK), available at:
  www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-437.pdf.
• Call and leave a voicemail at 1-866-574-0374.

The public may access the following resources to learn more:

• SSA 504 Accessibility Support: Accessibility Commitment www.ssa.gov/accessibility/index.html
• SSA 504 Accessibility Support: FAQ www.ssa.gov/accessibility/504_faq.html
• POMS GN 000211.001 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Standard and Nonstandard Accommodations https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200211001
• POMS HA 01205.008 (HALLEX I-2-0-8) Accommodations Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/hallex/I-02/I-2-0-8.html
• POMS HA 01305.088 (HALLEX I-3-0-88) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/2501305088
• POMS GN 00903.400 Complaints of Discrimination Against SSA and/or SSA Employees by Members of the Public https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.NSF/lnx/0200903400

Social Security Fairness Act

We recently announced that we are beginning to pay retroactive benefits and will increase monthly benefit payments to people whose benefits have been affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits for over 3.2 million people who receive a pension based on work that was not covered by Social Security (a “non-covered pension”) because they did not pay Social Security taxes. The Social Security Fairness Act ends WEP and GPO.

People who will benefit from the new law include some teachers, firefighters, and police officers in many states; federal employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System; and people whose work had been covered by a foreign social security system.

Many beneficiaries will be due a retroactive payment because the WEP and GPO offset no longer apply as of January 2024. Most people will receive their one-time retroactive payment by the end of March, which will be deposited into their bank account on record with Social Security.

Social Security urges beneficiaries to wait until April to ask about the status of their retroactive payment, since these payments will process incrementally into March. Since the new monthly payment amount will begin with the April payment, beneficiaries should wait until after receiving their April payment, before contacting Social Security with questions about their monthly benefit amount.

Visit the agency’s Social Security Fairness Act webpage at https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html to learn more and stay up to date on its progress

Davenport Social Security Administration
4319 N. Brady Street, Davenport, Iowa
(855) 420-8556   Mon.-Fri. 9 am – 4 PM

Rock Island Social Security Administration
2350 4th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois
(866) 414-9166   Mon.-Fri. 9 am – 4 PM