SSA to create electronic forms

The Social Security Administration will move its front-end benefits claims processing online and eliminate much of its paperwork by installing electronic forms software on employee PCs in its 1,400 offices nationwide.

Jane Meyer, manager of SSA's Electronic Forms Project, said the agency will replicate many of its 3,000 forms on employees' computer screens, where they can be filled out and transmitted from one office to another. The primary motive for the move is to spend less on printing, warehousing and distributing paper forms. Agency officials also hope the automation project will enable workers to do their jobs better and faster while providing more timely responses to citizens waiting for Social Security benefits.

SSA will invest $2 million to install Canadian software developer JetForm Corp.'s FormFlow Classic product on each of its 65,000 PCs. SSA estimates it will reduce its forms-related costs by $10 million.

SSA will begin by converting the most often-used forms to electronic formats. These include complex applications for disability benefits, school attendance statements for students who receive benefits as a result of a parent's death, and the statement of income and resources for Supplemental Security Income recipients.

When citizens visit SSA offices to get Social Security cards, agency employees will fill out the forms at their PCs.

"SSA won't have to print out forms, store paper or even ship boxes of documents to those who need the data," said John Joaquin, civilian sector sales manager at JetForm. "In the days of paper forms, sharing information was challenging."

SSA hopes to get time and cost savings from workers in local SSA offices, who will no longer have to stock and put away forms. "It takes a lot of time to do that," said Meyer. "Electronic forms are going to improve legibility-this is important for claims which go into a claim folder others have to read. Some of the software's features make it easier to fill out the forms. And in some cases it could improve accuracy with electronic calculations."

SSA is not certain that every form will become electronic. However, "SSA will be looking at the ones that provide the biggest cost savings," Meyer said.