416.350—Treating a title II application as an oral inquiry about SSI benefits.
(a)
When a person applies for benefits under title II (retirement, survivors, or disability benefits) we will explain the requirements for receiving SSI benefits and give the person a chance to file an application for them if—
(1)
The person is within 2 months of age 65 or older or it looks as if the person might qualify as a blind or disabled person, and
(2)
It is not clear that the person's title II benefits would prevent him or her from receiving SSI or any State supplementary benefits handled by the Social Security Administration.
(b)
If the person applying for title II benefits does not file an application for SSI on a prescribed form when SSI is explained to him or her, we will treat his or her filing of an application for title II benefits as an oral inquiry about SSI, and the date of the title II application form may be used to establish the SSI application date if the requirements of § 416.345 (d) and (e) are met.