My father is 91 and has worked all his life since 1955 and retired in 1985. He is currently retired oversea and around 4 months ago he received a letter that SS has been trying to reach him via phone(of course it was the incorrect number) and that if he does not contact them to verify his credentials he would loose his benefits. We talked to SS but they asked for documents(naturalization papers) which I am not sure where they are, as my father is overseas it was a bit difficult to retrieve. I went several times to Social Security to clarify this mentioning that my father has received benefits for years, why this inquisitions on benefits. They told me that I could not talk on his behalf and that I would need to gather documentation to prove his eligibility. Needless to say they stopped his payments, I am not able to talk to SS, and my father does not know how to get the information to prove his eligibility. What is my recourse, how do I correct this. From what I understand SS is asking for his naturalization papers and proof of citizenship. My father does not speak the language that well and he is over seas.

Hi,

I don't know of anything that your father could do to get his benefits reinstated other than showing Social Security the evidence they require. If your father is a naturalized U.S. citizen and has lost his naturalization certificate, he could request a replacement from the Immigration service. For more information on how to go about doing that, refer to the USCIS website: https://my.uscis.gov/exploremyoptions/lost_stolen_certificate.

Best, Jerry