To get a Benefits Planning Query (BPQY) from Social Security, call 1-800-772-1213 or visit your local Social Security office and ask for a BPQY for work-planning purposes. If you’re the beneficiary, no paperwork is required and there’s no fee. If someone else needs to receive the report on your behalf — a benefits counselor, vocational rehabilitation agency, Employment Network, or attorney — they’ll need a signed Form SSA-3288 authorizing the release.1Social Security Administration. Benefits Planning Query Handbook
Requesting a BPQY for Yourself
You have two straightforward channels. Call Social Security’s national line at 1-800-772-1213, open 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday (TTY 1-800-325-0778), or walk into the field office that serves your zip code.2Social Security Administration. Contact Social Security By Phone To find your nearest office, use the locator at ssa.gov/locator.1Social Security Administration. Benefits Planning Query Handbook
Ask for it by name. Say “Benefits Planning Query” or “BPQY” and tell the representative it’s for return-to-work planning. Using the specific term matters. A generic request for a benefit verification will get you a shorter letter that leaves out the work-incentive data, the Trial Work Period counter, and the earnings history that make the BPQY useful.
Social Security provides BPQYs at no charge when the purpose is return-to-work planning or Ticket to Work benefit counseling.3Social Security Administration. What Assistance Is Available For Work Incentives and Employment Supports The agency has stated it never intended to charge third-party stakeholders a fee when the request supports return-to-work counseling.4Social Security Administration. Recent Changes to Benefits Planning Query Stating the work-related purpose up front avoids any confusion about fees.
Expect the report to arrive by U.S. mail at the address Social Security has on file for you, generally within about seven to ten business days.
When Someone Else Needs to Receive Your BPQY
If a counselor, attorney, or agency is going to get the BPQY directly, Social Security needs your written consent on Form SSA-3288, Consent for Release of Information.1Social Security Administration. Benefits Planning Query Handbook The paper form is at ssa.gov/forms/ssa-3288.pdf. A limited online version is available at ssa.gov/privacy/electronic_request_for_consent_to_disclose.html, but only the record holder can use it — you can’t submit online consent on someone else’s behalf.5Social Security Administration. Privacy Program – Electronic Request for Consent to Disclose
Filling Out the Form Correctly
The SSA-3288 asks for your full legal name, Social Security number or claim number, and the name and address of whoever should receive the records. In Item 9, where the form asks what records you want released, check “Other” and write “BPQY” in the blank.6Social Security Administration. Social Security Administration Consent for Release of Information Don’t write something vague like “any and all records.” Social Security rejects consent forms that fail to specify the record being requested.
The signature has to be a wet signature from the beneficiary. Electronic signatures and photocopies are not accepted.1Social Security Administration. Benefits Planning Query Handbook If a counselor is preparing the paperwork, they’ll need to get the original signed copy from you before submitting anything.
Where to Send It
Send the completed SSA-3288 to the field office that serves the beneficiary’s zip code, or drop it off in person there.7Social Security Administration. New – Online Form to Consent to and Authorize SSA to Disclose Certain Privacy Act Protected Records to a Third Party The right office matters. If it lands at the wrong one, Social Security won’t route it internally. They’ll return it and you’ll have to start over at the correct office.1Social Security Administration. Benefits Planning Query Handbook
How the Report Is Delivered
By default, Social Security mails the BPQY to the beneficiary’s address on file. There are two faster delivery paths for third-party requests, and each has a condition attached. Social Security can fax the BPQY to a third party only when the SSA-3288 specifically authorizes fax delivery. Email is possible, but only to organizations on Social Security’s internal Secure Email Partners list; the agency won’t send a BPQY to a personal email address.1Social Security Administration. Benefits Planning Query Handbook If you’re working with a WIPA project or Employment Network, ask whether their organization is on that list before you assume mail is the only option.
Getting Help Reading It Once It Arrives
The BPQY is compact and heavily coded, and most people looking at one for the first time can’t tell what half the fields mean. Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) projects exist for exactly this purpose. WIPA is federally funded and staffed by Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWICs) trained to interpret BPQYs and translate the numbers into a practical work plan.8VCU National Training and Data Center. Tips for Interpreting the Benefits Planning Query (BPQY)
WIPA services are free to beneficiaries. A CWIC will review your BPQY with you, explain how your current benefits interact with potential earnings, and point out work incentives you haven’t yet used. To find a WIPA project near you, call the Ticket to Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842 (TTY 1-866-833-2967), open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern, or use the Find Help tool at choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp.9Social Security Administration. Work Incentives Planning and Assistance
A WIPA counselor can also request the BPQY directly once you’ve signed an SSA-3288 naming them as the recipient. Because Social Security provides BPQYs free to Ticket to Work service providers, nothing changes hands on your side.3Social Security Administration. What Assistance Is Available For Work Incentives and Employment Supports
If the BPQY Contains an Error
The BPQY draws straight from Social Security’s internal records, so any mistake in those records shows up on the report. Common problems include earnings posted to the wrong month, Trial Work Period months counted when they shouldn’t have been, or a payment status that doesn’t match your actual situation.
Start with your local field office. Many data corrections can be handled informally by a technician who updates the underlying record. Bring documentation: pay stubs, employer letters, bank statements — whatever supports the correction you’re asking for.
If the error reflects an actual decision Social Security made, and the office won’t fix it informally, you can file a formal appeal using Form SSA-561, Request for Reconsideration.10Social Security Administration. Request for Reconsideration Non-medical reconsideration can be filed online at ssa.gov or mailed to your local field office. Once the correction is processed, request a fresh BPQY so your work-planning records reflect the update.