How to Transition Your Social Security Account to Login.gov
Reading Time: 3 MinutesLast Updated: August 23, 2024
If you created a Social Security username more than 3 years ago, you will need to transition to a new or existing Login.gov account or use an ID.me account to have continuous access to our online services. We recently announced this news in a press release.
For step-by-step instructions on how to make the transition, watch this video. We also encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov.
Beginning June 1, 2024, people who sign in to their personal my Social Security account with their username are given the option to transition to Login.gov. This blog provides additional information and guidance to help you with problems you may encounter. We’re also going to provide answers to some of the questions we’ve heard.
Who does this affect?
If you created your free and secure my Social Security account on or after September 18, 2021, no action is necessary because you already have the right setup. If you are among the 46 million people who created an account before September 18, 2021 and use your username and password to access Social Security online services today, you will need to create or use an existing account with one of our two Credential Service Providers (CSP) – Login.gov or ID.me.
Is there a deadline?
While you can still use a username and password to sign in to your personal my Social Security account right now, this option is going away later this year. At that time, you will be required to have a Login.gov or ID.me account if you want to continue to access your personal my Social Security and our many other convenient online services.
A personal my Social Security account provides tools for everyone, whether you receive benefits or not. You can use your account to request a replacement Social Security card, check the status of an application, estimate future benefits, and manage the benefits you already receive. To learn more, visit What is an Account?
Why are you making this change?
This change will simplify your sign-in experience and better align with federal authentication standards while providing safe and secure access to our online services.
What do I need to do?
To avoid any disruptions in accessing our online services we encourage you to transition your account now by signing in to your account with your username and password. Our online instructions will guide you through the process of creating or signing in to an existing Login.gov account.
Information about Login.gov and ID.me
Login.gov is your one government account for simple, secure, and private access to participating government agencies. You can use your Login.gov account to access your Social Security benefit information, services, and other information. And you can use that same Login.gov account to manage other government benefits and services. For support, visit the Login.gov Help Center.
ID.me is a single sign-on provider that also meets the U.S. government’s online identity proofing and authentication requirements. You can use one ID.me account to access government and private services. For support – Go to the ID.me Help Center.
For more information, visit our Create an Account page.
Please share this information with friends and family, clients and colleagues, and others who may need it.
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Tags: General Information, my Social Security, my Social Security account
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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Please review our Comment Policy before leaving a comment. For your safety, please do not post Personally Identifiable Information (such as your Social Security Number, address, phone number, email address, bank account number, or birthdate) on our blog.
Ellie
I have followed all instructions but never received any prompt to link my accounts.
S.S.
Thank you for reading our blog, Ellie. For step-by-step instructions on how to make the transition, watch our 3-minute video. We also encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
David
I do not own a smart phone and do not have the money to buy one. My only phone is my home phone, which is VOIP. None of the other access methods apply to me. So you have devised a plan that forbids me from accessing my SS account. Thanks for That!
Victor G.
David,
Perhaps someone you know has a smart phone, and they can help you make this transistion. I had to do this a few years ago for my dad. He had a flip phone.
Good luck,
Victor
PAUL ..
DON’T WORRY. THE ALTERNATIVE USE OF DRIVER’S LICENSE PHOTOS AND VIDEO DON’T WORK EITHER. THE VIDEO “LIVE” VERIFICATION DOESN’T WORK. I GUESS IT ONLY WORKS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS STEALING FROM SOCIAL INSECURITY.
John S.
How do I change my address?
Judith L.
I want to change my mailing address
T.Y.
Hello, John. Thank you for reading our blog. If you are receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits, you can create a personal my Social Security account to change your address online. If you are receiving SSI, you can contact your local office immediately. Learn other ways to change your address here. We hope this helps.
John C.
Just signed up today for LOGIN.GOV and all went well but when I log in to it there is nothing in the way of my Social Security account data there. What am I missing here? Once logged in how do I access the account info?
S.S.
Hello, John. Thank you for reading our blog. If you need help with transitioning your account, you can contact Login.gov help center for assistance with Login.gov accounts, and ID.me support center for assistance with ID.me accounts. We also encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this helps.
Johanna C.
How do I report a compromised social security number?
Felix R.
My ssn was discovered in the dark web , what should I do about it?
S.S.
Hi, Felix. Thanks for reading our blog and for your comments. We take allegations of fraud very seriously. You can submit a report about Social Security fraud, waste, or abuse using our online form.
T.Y.
Hello, Johanna. Thanks for reading our blog. If you suspect identity theft, report it to the Federal Trade Commission (hyperlink 1) or call 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338). To learn more about how to prevent or resolve issues of identity theft, read our publication Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number. We hope this information helps.
Cathy
Re: the comment regarding old people having lost some of their marbles…shame on you!!! And you wondered why your first posting was no longer there…..
After reading some of these youngins’ comments regarding us oldsters inability; I’m proud to post that I found all of the changes easy. I don’t have a lot of computer experience but I am able to read, comprehend, and follow directions.
sirpo
Your abilities are probably because you are a BOOMER loud & proud & taught critical
thinking skills in college. Somewhere along the line it disappeared from the college curriculums
thru out the USA in the mid 70’s. Gee I wonder why
eddie w.
can not create an account.
S.S.
Hello, Eddie. Thank you for reading our blog. If you need help with transitioning your account, you can contact Login.gov help center for assistance with Login.gov accounts, and ID.me support center for assistance with ID.me accounts. We also encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this helps.
Catherine W.
We have a username and password created before 2021. One page says we do not have to change and one page says we do to login.gov or ID.me. Can you clarify which is required.
Thank you!
Cathy
You will need to create a new one since yours was created prior to 2021: If you created your free and secure my Social Security account on or after September 18, 2021, no action is necessary because you already have the right setup. If you are among the 46 million people who created an account before September 18, 2021 and use your username and password to access Social Security online services today, you will need to create or use an existing account with one of our two Credential Service Providers (CSP) – Login.gov or ID.me.
Charles H.
I tried this and got totally confused and can’t log in at all now!!!
Mitchelin R.
Do we get 2 checks this month
S.S.
Hi Mitchelin. Thanks for your question and for reading our blog. To learn more about when you will receive your payment, check out our publication, Schedule of Social Security Benefits. We hope this helps.
S.S.
Thank you for reading our blog, Catherine. We encourage you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions for Transitioning Your Social Security Username to Login.gov. We hope this information is helpful.
MP
This blog entry was “updated”; hence, all older comments, some of them helpful, deleted and useless SSA “responses” inserted here and there. I posted on Aug 1. This date is still included; however, my comment is gone. I saved it, to use it need be, and since I feel for all people struggling with this disgusting mess, I’m posting it again.
To share my experience… It might help somebody. Posting this video again – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i5ZvVIERxE Very helpful!
My experience was flawless. It was flawless because I’m reasonably young and still have most of my marbles with me, meticulous, have spent my life working online, including in web development capacity and I’ve gone insane a whole week looking for any information and tips that can help me with this process described as nightmarish by so many. On top of that, I live overseas, so being able to have online access was absolutely crucial! Otherwise, when time comes to apply for benefits, I’d have to go to ANOTHER COUNTRY! That being said, I can’t imagine how very old and/or disabled people or people not used to online work and working around bugs and potential bugs would do it… it…
Some tips while they’re still fresh in my mind.
– Most Americans at home would not do that, but so you know, do NOT use a VPN when working with login.gov. It generates that 403 error, which then transfers at the bottom of the old SSA screen (authorization failed). SSA still works, though. That error occurs in the middle of the process – when selecting back-up options.
– I had a legacy SSA account, so I logged in from the SSA website at first, with the old credentials and moved to login.gov from there.
– For other expats: unfortunately, login.gov does recognize Google Voice as a VoIP number and does not send codes to it, so, unless you go for the fancy methods, your only other option is the 10 back-up codes. They ARE given to you, online. At the end, I wasted one of them to make sure everything’s fine and the login.gov account was connected to SSA. It was; no additional effort on my end.
– When you go back from login.gov to SSA, SSA asks if you have some different code starting with A that might’ve been received by mail, in the office, etc. Say NO!!! You’re supposed to get that code only if everything became a mess online and you had to call SSA or go to an office. After you say NO on that screen, you just refill very basic info for yourself that SSA already has, but whatever, and end up where you’ve always been when signing to SSA before.
– Oh, at the last step, SSA also wants a phone number (no e-mail option like before) to text or call. Don’t remember if it was one, or the other, or both, but SSA called my Google Voice number and gave me that A-(dash) 8-digit number (the one you have to say NO to earlier). It can be repeated once, but then the automatic system hangs up on you, so be ready to write it down and prick up your ears. I assume this request can be repeated, need be, but I’m not positive.
– There’s no scanning and uploading of any documents involved, no DL or credit cards, no biometrics, no video calls, no pics taken only with a “smart” spying device or any other BS of that nature. You’ll encounter this kind of “fun” if you select the more “secure” authentication methods. If you LOVE and own the latest tech, go for it! I’m secure enough, thank you very much. In fact, more than secure enough! I’m sick and tired of “safety” and “security” for “my own good”!
Good luck with the newest crazy hurdle presented specifically to the elderly and the most vulnerable and unable to cope with it! Hope things work out for you, too.
Cathy
I found the directions originally posted much easier than your wordy “tips”. Not to mention your comment regarding we older citizens having lost some of our marbles!!
If you can read, comprehend, and follow directions, I feel you pretty much have it covered
Sincerely, a 74 year old, soon to be 75
Barb
Gee golly, I remember being able to do all that reading, comprehending and following directions stuff, too! I will say that I was not offended by the lost marbles comment. Don’t be that little old lady that thinks she’s better than the others on here. I appreciated MPs reassurance I could do it…And I did!
Sincerely, a recent 94 year old
Victoria
Go Cathy!!!! Yay… Most of us seniors have more than just marbles…we actually have a brain and we know how to use it…. imagine that!!!!!!!
MP
Since this comment disappeared after I wrote it, I came back to check if it ever posted (guess they update the DB overnight) and what did I find…?!
What is WRONG with some of you…? Where did I say anything about “lost marbles”?! I guess, since you lack reading comprehension and put words in other people’s mouths, you HAVE lost your marbles, but it doesn’t mean that everybody has! Talk about biting the hand that’s trying to feed you…
BARB
Thanks again MP. Your earlier post helped me!
EVERYONE!! READ THIS POST
WATCH THE VIDEO (just tap the blue youtube link in the post) CLEAR, EASY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS.
The SSA will not help. Sadly, THEY just don’t care, so WE have to suffer.
Michael c.
Ssda I need to fill out the disability form