Benefits

The Official Website of the U.S. Social Security Administration

Social Security Retirement Benefits

Social Security Disability Benefits

You may qualify for Social Security Disability Benefits if you:

are a disabled worker and you have worked and earned enough credits to become "insured."
are a disabled widow or widower between 50 and 60 years of age and your deceased spouse earned enough credits to become "insured."
became disabled before age 22, and either of your parents is deceased or disabled, and earned enough credits to become "insured."

How do I apply for Disability Benefits? You can apply in several ways:

You can visit the Social Security website and apply online. You will need to complete the application, and the disability report. You will need to print out the application and sign it and mail it, along with several SSA 827’s (medical release forms) to the local office.
www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityonline;
You can call Social Security and request a telephone interview at (866) 772-1213. Social Security will set up a time and date and will call you directly to take the necessary information over the telephone. They will then send you various forms for signature.
You can call Social Security at (866)772-1213 and request an in person appointment. You will then go to your local Social Security office for an interview. At the conclusion of the interview, you will be asked to sign various forms.
You can work with a professional representative or attorney to present your claim. Your representative or attorney can handle your entire claim from application through each level of appeal. In California call (866-772-5299)

Social Security Survivors Benefits --Use their Survivors Planner to look at survivors benefits from two sides:1) how your family members are protected if you die, and 2) how you may qualify as a survivor on someone else's Social Security record. This protection is particularly important for young families with children.

SSI -- The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have limited income and resources. SSI benefits also are payable to people 65 and older without disabilities who meet the financial limits.

Medicare -- Medicare is our country’s health insurance program for people age 65 or older. Certain people younger than age 65 can qualify for Medicare, too, including those who have disabilities and those who have permanent kidney failure or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). The program helps with the cost of health care, but it does not cover all medical expenses or the cost of most long-term care.

Great website!

http://www.benefits.gov/ is here to serve you! Find more than 1,000 Federal and state benefits including housing, food/nutrition, education, grants/loans, disaster relief and Medicare/Medicaid. Getting started is simple: Click the "Start Now" button on the homepage to begin your one-stop search for government assistance programs today.

California Programs from Benefits.gov website:

California CalWORKs (TANF) CalWORKs is a welfare program that gives cash aid and services to eligible needy California families. The program serves all 58 counties in the state and is operated locally by county welfare departments. If a family has little or no cash and needs h...
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California Food Stamp Program Food Stamps is a Federally funded program that helps low-income people buy the food they need for good health. For most households, food stamps are only part of their food budget; they must spend some of their own cash along with their food stamps in...
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California Head Start Head Start is a national program administered by the Head Start Bureau within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Head Start provides ...
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California Healthy Families (SCHIP) Healthy Families is low cost insurance for California children and teens. It provides health, dental and vision coverage to children who do not have insurance and do not qualify for free Medi-Cal....
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California Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Block Grant is funded by the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and provides two basic types of services. Eligible low-income persons, via local governmental and nonprofit org...
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California Medicaid Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid health care program. This program pays for a variety of medical services for children and adults with limited income and resources. Medi-Cal is supported by Federal and...
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California National School Breakfast and Lunch Program The United States Department of Agriculture provides funding to support five school meal and milk programs to assist schools, districts, and other non-profit agencies in providing nutritious meals and milk to children at reasonable prices or free to ...
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California Special Milk Program The California Special Milk Program is a Federally funded program which assists schools and other agencies in providing milk to children at reasonable prices. For children, the Special Milk Program provides a nutritious beverage, rich in calcium and ...
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California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) The WIC Program provides supplemental foods, nutrition education and referrals to health care, at no cost, to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are determined to be at nutritional risk. To ...
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California Summer Food Service The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a Federally-funded program that reimburses sponsors for administrative and operational costs for providing meals to children 18 years of age and younger during periods when they are out of school for fifteen ...
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California Unemployment Insurance Unemployment insurance benefits provide temporary financial assistance to workers unemployed through no fault of their own who meet California's eligibility requirements....
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California Weatherization Assistance Program The Department of Energy, Weatherization Assistance Program (DOE WAP) has long served as the core program for delivering energy conservation services to low-income Californians. The Weatherization Assistance Program reduces the heating and cooling co...