The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced Friday that beneficiaries will have to use a new login method to access information regarding their benefits.
At present, the SSA’s “my Social Security” online platform allows beneficiaries to access services such as checking the status of their application, managing the benefits, estimating future benefits, and requesting a replacement social security card.
However, users who created a “my Social Security” account before Sept. 18, 2021, need to create a new account at Login.gov to continue accessing SSA services, according to a July 12 press release.
The Login.gov account gives users the ability to access multiple government agencies via a single portal. The change follows the agency’s attempt to “simplify the sign-in experience and align with federal authentication standards.”
Currently, more than five million “my Social Security” account holders have transitioned to Login.gov, said the agency.
Beneficiaries who already have a Login.gov account do not need to take any action.
“We’re excited to transition to Login.gov to access our online services, streamlining the process and ease of use for the public across agencies,” said Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley.
Login.gov is used by several agencies including the Office of Personnel Management and the Small Business Administration. The platform claims to adhere to security standards set by organizations such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
However, the platform’s security has come under criticism for being inadequate. Last year, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) published a report stating that the GSA “failed to communicate Login.gov’s known noncompliance” with NIST’s Digital Identity Guidelines.
The agency was accused of billing its customers more than $10 million for Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) security standards even though Login.gov did not meet these standards.
Moreover, “GSA used misleading language to secure additional funds for Login.gov,” the report said.
Boosting Online Services
The new access update is the latest change the SSA has implemented regarding its online services this year.In February, the agency launched the SecurityStat website which tracks how much the SSA has progressed in terms of achieving customer service goals. “SecurityStat offers a new and unprecedented level of transparency for Social Security’s stakeholders and customers,” Mr. O’Malley said.
“Now, on our new SecurityStat website, the public can easily view the progress we are making on certain priorities, like our 800 Number performance, average processing time for disability determinations, and average processing time for retirement, survivor, and Medicare benefit claims.”
For instance, the agency aims to cut down the time taken to answer calls to the national 800 number to an average of 12 minutes by the end of fiscal year 2025. The SecurityStat website shows that the wait times have fallen from a peak of 42 minutes to 20 minutes in fiscal year 2024.
The new online changes are being implemented following President Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order that called for “transforming federal customer experience and service delivery,” including for social security services.
As part of the order, SSA said in June that it would reduce the work history that disability claim applicants need to submit from 15 years to five years. This update is scheduled to come into effect from June 22.
The SSA concluded that 15 years of work history was “difficult for individuals to remember and often led to incomplete or inaccurate reporting.”
In March, the agency also announced a measure to ease overpayment burdens faced by social security disability program beneficiaries. Earlier, if the agency overpaid a beneficiary, it would withhold 100 percent of their monthly benefits until the overpaid amount was recovered.
Beginning March 25, the agency only collects 10 percent (or $10, whichever is greater) of the total monthly Social Security benefit to recover an overpayment.
