I have a friend who, like me, is a retired Social Security Administration employee. But we are different in that I retired more than 10 years ago, whereas he just walked out the office door for the last time earlier this year. We like to commiserate about old times and share war stories about all of our years in the public service trenches. And like many old codgers our age, we tend to think of the good old days as ... well ... the good old days. We both agree that, sadly, the service provided by SSA has been going downhill for a while. My recently retired friend put it to me this way. He said, "Since you retired Tom, the lights have gone out at SSA."

I've written about this topic before. I pointed out that I get frequent emails from readers who complain about overflowing waiting rooms, generally unpleasant surroundings, and overall poor service following a visit to the Social Security office. And I get many more emails complaining about the service, or rather lack of good service, provided at SSA's 800 number. I hear horror stories every day from people who say they waited on hold for an extremely long time (as in 30 minutes or more) only to finally be connected with someone who was unable to help them with their Social Security problem.

But then just today, I got an email from a reader in Texas who had good things to say about her interaction with SSA. Here, in part, is what she wrote.

"We waited in line outside our local Social Security office. Promptly at 9:00 a.m., the security guard opened the door and politely held it for everyone. Each person was greeted by an SSA employee who checked him or her in using a machine. We were asked briefly about our business and then given a number for our visit. The waiting room was clean with padded seat chairs. Numbers were displayed so you would know where you were in line. The most surprising part was how quickly each person was served. People seeking new Social Security cards were handled at a separate window very quickly. Our number was called and we were escorted to a spacious cubicle in the back room where the agent understood our issue immediately. He asked us to sign a form. He entered the information in the computer and we were out of there in a half-hour with a resolution much to our satisfaction."

Even though I was pleased to get that report of a good service experience with SSA, I must still regrettably admit that the negative comments I get outweigh the positive ones by a wide margin. I would like to think that this is based on the maxim that folks are more likely to complain about poor service than they are to applaud good service. But I'm just not sure.

So I'd like to take a little poll from my readers. Please send me an email telling me about your experiences either with your local Social Security office or with SSA's toll free number service. And because many folks use SSA's website to interact with the agency, I'd like to hear from people who use the agency's online services. I'm going to ask that you please keep your reports brief. I simply will not have time to read long narratives detailing every aspect of your interaction with SSA. Send your reports to me at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. I will tally the results and, in a future column, report the findings. I really am hoping the lights are still on at my former employer's offices. But I await your verdict.

And it looks like I've got some space left in today's column to answer a few questions.

Q: I recently applied for my Social Security. I am 66. For a variety of reasons I won't go into here, I didn't start working until I was in my late 30s. So when I signed up for Social Security, I only had 29 years of earnings on my Social Security account. I am in pretty good health and am thinking of taking a job at my local Wal-Mart. It won't pay me much money, but it will get me out of the house and the income will certainly help supplement my Social Security check. But I wonder: Will I be messing up my Social Security check by taking this job?

A: You certainly will NOT be "messing up" your Social Security benefits by working. In fact, just the opposite is true. You will be increasing your benefits each year. Your retirement benefit, like all retirement benefits, was figured using a 35-year base of earnings. You only had 29 years, so six "zero" years were included in your original Social Security computation. That means any amount of income you have, no matter how small, is going to help your Social Security bottom line. Or to put that another way, any income is better than "zero" Income. After every year you work, your benefits will be automatically recalculated and you will get an annual bump in your monthly Social Security retirement checks.

Q: I plan to work until I'm 68. I understand I get an 8 percent bonus for each year I work after age 66. So I'm expecting a 16 percent increase in my eventual Social Security checks. But what if I decide to retire earlier — let's say at age 67 and a half? Will I lose the 8 percent bonus for that final year I work because I won't be working a full year?

A: No, you won't lose anything. You really don't get an annual bonus. Instead, it is figured on a monthly basis. For each month you delay taking your Social Security checks after age 66, you get a two-thirds of one percent increase added to your retirement checks once you finally apply for them. That happens to work out to 8 percent per year. But again, it is actually figured on a monthly basis. So if you retire at age 67 and a half, you will get a 12 percent bonus.

And now, one final reminder to my readers. I'm trying to figure out if, as my former colleague says, "the lights have gone out" at the Social Security Administration. Please share your experiences, good or bad, in dealing with the agency. Send your BRIEF reports to me at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. Thanks!

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has the answer. Contact him at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.