How to Set Up an Online Social Security Account
Use it to get benefits estimates, replacement cards and other vital services
Getty Images
En español | Whether you're already receiving benefits or are years away from retirement, it's important to keep an eye on your account with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to ensure you will collect what you have earned. But with the SSA warning about long lines at recently reopened local offices and lengthy wait times on the phone help line, tracking and managing your benefits can be difficult if you haven't set up an online My Social Security account.
This story was produced in collaboration with Senior Planet, which helps people 60 and older learn technology skills to reach their goals, to find community and to thrive in the digital world. Join us for 50-plus free virtual programs each week to learn about a wide range of topics, such as podcasts, telemedicine, saving money, getting in shape and making friends.
Taking a few minutes to create this account will give you more control of your benefits while saving you time. Now that the SSA has mostly stopped sending out paper benefit statements, an online account is the primary way people can keep track of their retirement benefits. As of July 2021, nearly 60 million people have My Social Security accounts, according to SSA data. You can use your account to:
- Get estimates of how much your monthly benefit would be if you claim it early, at full retirement age or at age 70.
- Set up direct deposit of your benefit payments.
- Request a replacement Medicare or Social Security card.
- Change your address or phone number on file with the SSA.
- Verify your earnings over your career.
- Request a benefit verification letter, which you can use as proof of income when applying for a loan or mortgage or for government assistance, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or housing vouchers.
- Request a replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S, the forms the agency mails to you every January for tax purposes that summarize your benefits for the previous year.
- Check the status of a pending claim or an appeal of a disability benefits decision.
When you are ready to apply for benefits, you can click through to the claim form from your My Social Security account or go directly to the application section of the SSA website.
Save 25% when you join AARP and enroll in Automatic Renewal for first year. Get instant access to discounts, programs, services, and the information you need to benefit every area of your life.
How to get started
To set up a My Social Security account, you must be at least 18 and have a Social Security number, a valid email address and a U.S. mailing address. If you want to add an extra layer of security to your account, you will also need some form of identification or financial information, such as a driver’s license or tax return. Make sure that you have all of this information handy.
Here’s how to set up your account.
1. Go to the My Social Security sign-up page and click on Create an Account (that’s the long blue button on the left of the screen). On the next screen click on the "Create a new account" button, then on "Sign in with LOGIN.GOV" at the top of the succeeding page. Login.gov is a secure, single sign-in service members of the public can use to access accounts with participating government agencies, including Social Security.
2. Create your log-in. On the Login.gov sign-in page, click on "Create an account." On successive screens, enter an email address and language preference, confirm your email and create a password that’s at least 12 characters long.
As a general rule, longer passwords are better. Another way to strengthen them is to use a favorite phrase from a book or movie and swap in numbers and symbols for some of the letters. And don’t use one you’ve used for other websites.
3. Secure your account. Select the way you want the SSA to verify your identity when you sign in to your account. There are several methods available, the most common being to receive a one-time security code by text or phone call each time you log in, or to use an app that generates codes for you.
If you choose the text/phone option, you’ll go through that code process as part of this initial sign-in.
4. Enter identifying information. You’ll be asked to read and agree to terms of service for the account, and then to provide information the SSA can use to verify your identity, including your name, Social Security number, birth date and home address.
You’ll be given an option at this point to beef up account security by providing some form of identification or financial information, like a driver’s license or tax return, that the SSA can use to further confirm your identity when you log in. If you choose to do this, there are three options:
- Photo verification. Click the blue "Request Text Message" button. You should get a text with a link. Click it and follow the instructions to take pictures of both sides of your driver’s license, or another state-issued ID card, with your smartphone.
- Data entry. You’ll be asked to type in information from your driver’s license or other state ID, and to provide a piece of financial data — for example, the last eight digits of a credit card, tax information or the amount of your monthly Social Security benefit.
- Credit history. Answer a few multiple-choice questions about your credit record, such as the bank that holds your mortgage or what credit cards you have. If you placed a freeze on your credit report to prevent scammers from using your information, you will need to remove it temporarily to use this method. Contact one of the three credit agencies — Equifax, Experian or TransUnion — by phone, mail or online to have it lifted.
Congratulations! You have successfully created your online My Social Security account.
Going forward, you’ll be able to log into your My Social Security account from any device using Login.gov. If you previously created an account using Social Security’s SSA.gov site or the online identity-verification network ID.me, you can still access the account using those platforms and your existing credentials.
Protecting your benefits from swindlers
The SSA offers secure sign-in via Login.gov and optional extra protection to guard against identity theft. Scammers who obtain your Social Security number and address through phishing, data breaches or other means can go online and set up a My Social Security account in your name, if you haven’t already done so.
The threat grows once you reach age 62, the minimum claiming age for Social Security retirement benefits. Thieves could start collecting monthly payments in your name, and you might not find out about it until years later when you apply for Social Security. Only one account is permitted per Social Security number, so establishing your account early is key.
“People need to plant their flag, because someone could just sign up for you,” cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs, who runs the Krebs on Security website, told AARP in 2018.
Krebs said that in Social Security identity theft cases he’s seen, the victims ultimately had to visit a Social Security office to resolve the problems.
If you suspect you have been the victim of identity theft, you can report this to the SSA Office of the Inspector General or visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft.gov information site.
Kenneth Terrell covers employment, age discrimination, work and jobs, careers, and Congress for AARP. He previously worked for the Education Writers Association and U.S. News & World Report, where he reported on government and politics, business, education, science and technology, and lifestyle news.
Patrick J. Kiger is a contributing writer for AARP. He has written for a wide variety of publications, including the Los Angeles Times Magazine, GQ, Mother Jones and websites of the Discovery Channel and National Geographic.