How to Apply for Extra Help — and the Box You Should Never Check
● ACTIVE SOCIAL SECURITY · NATIONAL
People print the application from a website, fill it in, and mail it. Weeks later nothing has happened.
Social Security processes the paper form with scanning equipment, and its own guidance is blunt about what that means: a photocopied, faxed, or downloaded copy cannot be scanned. Only an original paper application issued by Social Security will be processed.
Apply online, or call and ask them to mail you an original. Do not print one yourself.
Extra Help is applied for through the Social Security Administration, not Medicare and not your state. There is no fee, and you may apply at any time of year.
The online form takes about half an hour.
Four ways to apply
If you want the paper form, call and ask them to mail an original. Page checked 2026-07-31.
The box you should never check
Near the end of the application there is a question about sharing your information with your state. It looks like a privacy question. It is not.
Social Security sends the data from your Extra Help application to your state so the state can consider you for a Medicare Savings Program — the program that pays your Part B premium. That is a second, separate benefit worth about $2,434 a year.
If you select "No," Social Security will not send anything to your state. You would then have to contact the state yourself and start over. Leave it as it is, and one application can begin two programs.
If you have already applied and checked "No," you have not lost anything permanent. You can still apply for the Medicare Savings Program directly with your state.
What to have in front of you
- Social Security number, yours and your spouse's
- Bank statements — checking, savings, certificates of deposit
- Statements for stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and IRAs
- Last year's tax return, or recent pay stubs and benefit letters
- Pension and annuity statements
- Your Medicare card
You do not need to mail proof with an online application. Social Security verifies most of it electronically and will contact you if something needs a document.
What to say about burial expenses
The application asks whether you expect to use part of your savings for burial or funeral expenses. Answering yes raises your resource limit by $1,500 per person — $18,090 instead of $16,590 for one person.
Most people who are a few hundred dollars over the limit are over it only because nobody told them this question mattered.
After you file
| What arrives | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Decisional Notice | SSA thinks you will not qualify, and says why | Correct it within 10 days |
| Notice of Award | Approved — it explains your benefit level | Enroll in a Part D plan if you have not |
| Notice of Denial | Not approved | Appeal with form SSA-1021 |
→ swipe the table sideways · Source: Social Security Administration
The Pre-Decisional Notice is not a denial. It is a chance to fix a number before the decision is made. If the income you reported was wrong, or you left out the burial expense answer, that is the moment to say so. Ten days is short — call the field office on the notice rather than writing.
Traps
Appeal. Do not reapply. If you are denied and you file a fresh application instead of appealing, your start date resets to today. Appealing keeps the original date, which means Extra Help is effective from the first day of the month you first applied. That difference can be months of drug costs.
A printed application will not be processed. Social Security scans the paper form. Photocopies, faxes, and downloaded printouts cannot be scanned. Apply online, or call and ask them to mail you an original.
Approval alone does not get you any drugs. Extra Help lowers the cost of a Part D plan. You still have to be enrolled in one. If you never choose a plan, one may be assigned to you — and an assigned plan may not cover what you take.
If you already have QMB, SLMB, or QI, do not apply. Those programs qualify you automatically and Social Security notifies you by mail each fall. Filing anyway wastes weeks and changes nothing.
Income limits are higher if you support relatives. When you apply directly with Social Security, the limit rises if dependent relatives live with you and you or your spouse provide at least half their support. Say so on the form. It is not calculated for you.
Related programs
The second program that box startsMedicare Savings Programs 2026: All 50 States→ If you checked "No" by mistakeHow to reach your state Medicaid office→ State guideMedicare Savings Programs in California→Tools you'll need anyway
Applying is free. Social Security never charges, and nobody legitimate charges to file for you.
- Social Security Administration — Extra Help forms and publications: SSA-i1020 online, SSA-1020 paper, SSA-1021 appeal.
- Social Security Administration — SSA-1020, Application for Extra Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs.
- Social Security Administration — What You Need To Know About Extra Help, state agency manual, on scanning requirements and state data sharing.
Notice deadlines and form numbers change. Read the letter you receive rather than relying on this page for dates. Benefit Almanac is not a government agency and cannot apply on your behalf.
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