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Applying for Social Security benefits? Get free advice at these Philly seminars

The Social Security Administration is hosting free information sessions around the city.

Find out about how to apply for Social Security benefits.
Find out about how to apply for Social Security benefits.Read moreGeorge Sheldon / MCT

Is Social Security on your near horizon? Are you planning to receive your Social Security retirement benefits? Do you have questions about eligibility, when to collect, and the application process?

If so, these free sessions are for you.

Sponsored by the Social Security Administration, the seminars are open to the public, but registration is required.

Social Security Administration employees will discuss how to calculate your full retirement age, how your benefit is configured, creating your online account, when to take benefits, rules for collecting while working, family benefits, and enrolling in Medicare.

On Wednesday, May 8, the first session will take place at the Germantown Social Security Office, 701 E. Chelten Avenue, 19144. The roughly 90-minute session is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. You must register by May 6, by sending an email to edward.lafferty@ssa.gov or calling 866 398-3469, Ext. 29305.

The following sessions, are scheduled for Tuesday, May 14 and Wednesday, May 22. The venues for those seminars are the Belmont Hills Library and the Ardmore Library, respectively.

The Belmont Hills Library is at 120 Mary Watersford Road in Bala Cynwyd, and the Ardmore Library is at 104 Ardmore Ave., in Ardmore.

Participants can register for sessions starting at 1 p.m or 3 p.m. The registration deadline is Friday, May 10. To register, send an email to edward.lafferty@ssa.gov or call 866-398-3469, Ext. 29305.

If you are applying for Social Security online, remember that there’s now a second security step, using either your email address or a cell phone number.

The Social Security Administration added the second step for verifying the identity of “my Social Security” online account holders when they register or sign on. You can choose either, using your cell phone number or your email address as a second identification method through email or text message.

An email address already is required to use “my Social Security” online (www.ssa.gov). If you plan to select email as the second method of authenticating your online account, ensure that the onetime security code return email does not go into your spam or junk folder by adding NO-REPLY@ssa.gov to your contact list.

What if you don’t have a cell phone or computer? There’s still a human option.

There are 16 of these “self-help” computer stations in the broader Philadelphia region, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, but you’ll need an appointment. You can schedule, reschedule, or cancel appointments by calling the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by contacting your local agency office.