New App Will Help the Disabled Report Income

The Social Security Administration is developing a mobile application for people who receive Supplemental Security income from the agency, Chief Information Officer Kelly Croft told a House subcommittee Wednesday. SSI benefits, which are intended to help aged, blind or disabled people pay for food and other basic needs, must be reported as income to the Internal Revenue Service.

The app should be out before the end of the year, he told members of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on social security.

The agency has been examining possibilities for new mobile applications for several years, Croft said. On May 1, the agency launched a program that allows people to access their Social Security statements online. That site has already had 150,000 visitors, Croft told committee members.

Most interactions between SSA and the public -- such as when someone applies for benefits -- happen on an infrequent or one-time basis making them poor candidates for a mobile app, Croft said.

Recipients of Supplemental Security Income, for example, must report their wages every month.