CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Senior citizens looking to file for Social Security retirement benefits can now do so online, easily and safely, in only 15 minutes, according to Social Security officials.

Using a retirement estimator, people are given an immediate and personalized estimate of their potential Social Security retirement benefits after entering their information.

"Nowadays, everyone expects that you can do everything online, so why not this?" said Stephen Hayes, operations supervisor for the Charleston office of the Social Security Administration.

Filing online allows people to fill out the form on their own time and from the comfort of their home.

"We're promoting it as a 'save a trip' option," Hayes said. "People won't have to go to their local field office to apply."

It can take up to two weeks for an appointment for someone to file for their benefits in person.

"It takes someone an average of 10 to 15 minutes to fill it out," he said. "It's faster and more convenient."

After the application is submitted, it is processed the next day.

"We have representatives who can call you if there is something wrong, but it's a foolproof system," Hayes said. "It's almost impossible to do something wrong."

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Senior citizens looking to file for Social Security retirement benefits can now do so online, easily and safely, in only 15 minutes, according to Social Security officials.

Using a retirement estimator, people are given an immediate and personalized estimate of their potential Social Security retirement benefits after entering their information.

"Nowadays, everyone expects that you can do everything online, so why not this?" said Stephen Hayes, operations supervisor for the Charleston office of the Social Security Administration.

Filing online allows people to fill out the form on their own time and from the comfort of their home.

"We're promoting it as a 'save a trip' option," Hayes said. "People won't have to go to their local field office to apply."

It can take up to two weeks for an appointment for someone to file for their benefits in person.

"It takes someone an average of 10 to 15 minutes to fill it out," he said. "It's faster and more convenient."

After the application is submitted, it is processed the next day.

"We have representatives who can call you if there is something wrong, but it's a foolproof system," Hayes said. "It's almost impossible to do something wrong."

The application includes several pages that have built-in error messages to alert a user if they leave something blank that needs to be filled in.

It also saves their information if people want to come back and complete the application later, Hayes said.

Numerous security measures ensure that someone's personal information is safe and available only to them, he said.

In the past month, 28 percent of the retirement benefits applications in Charleston have been filled out online, and Hayes hopes that number continues to increase - especially with the increase of applications that will be filed by the Baby Boomers.

"They're calling it the silver tsunami," he said.

People can get their Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but won't get their full benefits unless they wait until age 65.

Social Security workers held an informational meeting and demonstration on how to file for retirement benefits online at the Kanawha County Public Library's main branch on Capitol Street on Thursday evening. They'll hold another one at the Dunbar Public Library in October, but people who want to file now shouldn't wait until then, Hayes said.

"It's just too easy not to do it now," he said.

For more information, visit www.socialsecurity.gov.

Reach Kathryn Gregory at kathr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5119.