This is going to be a column about people who need help managing their Social Security affairs. People frequently send me emails about this topic. A typical email might go something like this: “My 90-year-old grandmother has a hard time getting around and managing all of her affairs. I had myself granted power of attorney so that I can help her do things. But when I recently called Social Security to change my grandma’s direct deposit address for her Social Security checks, they said my grandma had to do it herself. Don’t they understand what ‘power of attorney’ means?” Believe me, SSA understands what that means. But what the folks who send these kinds of questions to me don’t understand is that “power of attorney” is essentially a meaningless designation for Social Security purposes. Let me explain. Social Security rules have always been very strict about the privacy of someone’s …
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