Changes Are Coming to How You Access Social Security’s Online Services
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: January 22, 2025
We’re making changes to the way you access Social Security’s online services, including your personal my Social Security account. The changes will simplify your sign-in experience and align with federal authentication standards. At the same time, we’re continuing to provide safe and secure access to our online services.
If you created your my Social Security account before September 18, 2021, you will still be able to use your username and password to sign in. However, you will not be able to do so for much longer.
In the near future, all users will need to have an account with one of our two Credential Service Providers (CSP) – Login.gov or ID.me – to access your personal my Social Security account and other online services.
To learn more, read our press release. If you have an existing Login.gov or ID.me account, you do NOT need to create a new one. And, if you can access your personal my Social Security account through Login.gov or ID.me, you don’t need to take any action.
If you don’t have a Login.gov account
To avoid any disruptions in accessing Social Security’s online services you may want to transition your account now by signing in with your Social Security username. Our online instructions will guide you through the process of creating a new account with Login.gov. Once you successfully link your personal my Social Security account with your new Login.gov account, you’ll get a confirmation screen and have immediate access to our online services. In the future, you’ll sign in to your account with Login.gov and not your Social Security username.
Login.gov offers 24/7 customer phone and chat support to answer your questions.
We encourage you to make the transition to Login.gov or ID.me now before the username option goes away later this year.
You’ll find more helpful information here.
Please share these important upcoming changes with your family members, friends, and colleagues.
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Tags: General Information, my Social Security, online services
See CommentsAbout the Author
Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
Comments
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Kurt W.
This change forcing us to register with login.gov or ID.me is extremely unwelcome. It does not improve security, and it adds inconvenience and unreliability. The biometric authentication methods are invasive and unreliable. SSA should leave well enough alone. The current authentication method is more than adequate.
Mario E.
I always wonder about the improvement in the system it is not friendly, very confuse and hard to follow up. Please stop wasting money.
Rosalie
So true!
Gin
What about people who don’t use computers? I have neighbors who don’t. And this is going to confuse the very elderly and people with fragile health. I rarely even look at my account or use any other gov’t site.
Shaukat
I live outside the USA.
Do I use ID.me or login. Gov
Login.gov requires a US address.
Security codes are very confusing.
Please help. 🙏
Joe B.
Then this change won’t affect them. If they don’t have a computer, they probably don’t have a smartrphone and never logged on before and have an account. They will still get communications via regular mail
Harvey F.
This sucks
Kevin S.
Hey SS admin, ever heard the phrase “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” Why can’t you just leave it alone its been working fine.
Time to contact my Congressman.
Lenora P.
Agree completely. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Absolutely no need for this. Wasteful. Confusing. Unnecessary!
Debra C.
So agree. I’m probably going to contact my representatives in Congress also.
janet
Why the need for this change??? So complicated and
unnecessary! Makes me feel much less safe when trying to access my social security information.
Larry K.
Hardly an improvement. Now instead of click click with saved password and copy post a simple code I have to go through all kinds of posting and consult a list of codes that I then write down and TRY to enter correctly. Few more years and a few more brain cells die it may be impossible. I’m 76 but how do old people cope with this? 😉
Jim
Voice activation…
JPP
This is such BS. Instead of wasting money on stuff like this how about helping seniors that need help. And how about you stop the politicians from stealing our money and giving it to illegals!
Larry S.
This is a mess, what 12 year old came up with all this garbage.
Who ‘s kid needed a job, Trump was behind this, wanting to control everything.
Get real.
Larry Snedegar
Rick C.
What an ignorant comment. You come up with this by yourself?
JT
Trump isn’t president.
Dems are responsible!!!
Tony
The ID.me and Login.gov was created by the other agencies under Trump. It is just now being used by the SSA. A few billion dollars spent over the years to finally be able to use the system.
Now watch it crash due to too many people logging in at once. We seen this happen with unemployment.
Joe
Biden, I think you got the names wrong again. Mr Trump had nothing to do with SS for the last four years.
Linda F.
Trump had absolutely nothing to do with this change to the Social Security system. Biden is still President, remember? Pres. Trump invited farmers to the White House, listened to them and other business proprietors, while Biden does the bidding of China and took billions from them to ruin the USA.
Tony
We need cheaper food prices at the grocery stores. These U.S. farmers are charging too much for food after getting billions in government subsidies. These farmers aren’t passing the savings on to us.
Linda K.
The farmer’s aren’t getting extra money you have to blame the middleman that never even touches the product but gets most of the profits.
Earl H.
It doesn’t amount to much more than changing a password & offers more online security. ID.me allows logging in to other government sites using the same credentials. Very doubtful Donald Trump has anything to do with this. Joe Biden has been in charge of the government for the past four years. Blame him.
Andrea
If people did their research instead of showing their ignorance they would find out that the Obama Administration was the originator of Login.gov. it was done by Executive Order in May 2016. Therefore, you can once again thank the Democrats for another DUMPSTER FIRE!
Debii
No sorry there buddy it’s not Trump’s fault it’s #FJB fault. Whenever you all don’t have anyone to blame You blame Trump.
Y’ALL NEED TO GET A LITTLE MORE CREATIVE!
NORMA C.
MASS CONFUSION FOR AN OLD LADY WHY NOT LEAVE THINGS ALONE. YOU ARE REALLY HINDERING THINGS
Edwin K.
I have been trying to get into IDme and Login.gov for around 2 years. No success. I am 84 years old,and I doubt it will be any easier for me now.
Rosa
Photo or scan your id card…
PB
Same here, I can’t count the times I have tried to sign up for both and always get an error message when I KNOW I am entering the correct info! Too frustrating and stressful!
Linda
I was able to get a login.gov account last year that claims it is attached to SSA but everytime I try to login it asks for “activation code” that I think they may NOW give out to open an account on SSA but I searched all text messages, emails, letters from SSA and nothing mentions the ACTIVATION CODE and no way to proceed. I can currently still use username/password but if they don’t get this fixed I will lose access next month. HOW DOES ONE GET AN ACTIVATION CODE duplicate?
Jill G.
Linda – same here! it’s insane. I’m fairly computer literate and there seems to be a bug in the system. 1-800# was not helpful – couldn’t figure it out and basically said – “well at least you’re still able to get in doing it the old way with userid/password so you’re ok”. Well, for now yes – except that SS sent out messages saying we need to all transition our old SS online accounts as September is the projected cutoff for access to old account sign-ins. So went into local SS office today with screen prints of screens used to sign in and the nasty “activation code” request screen – an activation code which we haven’t been sent by text, email, or even USPS in 10 days. She said that she can’t help – need to talk with the Login.gov vendor so fix – but login.gov says it’s SS we need to contact. So both pointing fingers. Neither SS or Login.gov representatives said they could supply an activation code or give a duplicate. Will put it on hold for now & try attacking it in near future. Thinking of deleting online access of both the SS and Login.gov accounts & restarting them up again from scratch a few weeks after.
Alex C.
When you asked “do you have activation code” – select NO to answer. New activation code will be sent to your email address. That is what helped me to register and access my SSA account.