Your Social Security Account

Note to international subscribers: Today is U.S.-focused. Stay with me. Next time, we'll return to personal finance principles.

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DOGE is at work, and there has been a ton of press about changes to the management and operations of the U.S. Social Security system. You may wonder if there is a “Social Security office near me?” In general, lack of help, responsiveness to questions, and access bumps are today’s juice, putting benefit funding concerns to the back burner.

“Dealing With Social Security Is Heading From Bad to Worse” is the headline from a March 24th article in the Wall Street Journal in which the authors state: “The federal agency that administers Social Security benefits is facing a customer-service mess.”

Was the agency ever at the top of the customer service game?

Get Some Control of the Mess

Assume nothing can be done to get answers to questions quickly or by a human. However, you have tools as long as your Internet connection is functioning. Share this email if you know somebody who would benefit.

My advice: check out your Social Security account. It exists, and you should know what is in it: your salary history, eligibility for benefits, prospective benefits under current law, how to file for benefits, how to get a new Social Security card, etc…..

I’ve always encouraged my college students to gain account access. If they have worked and reported earnings, a history should be tied to their Social Security number. Few of us think explicitly about the value of Social Security retirement benefits. For most households, particularly when individuals expect a long life, retirement benefits are a substantial chunk of cash. And, as current retirees know, benefits are tricked up to keep pace with inflation.

Where to Start

1. Have your phone handy for two-factor authentication.

When you click through to ssa.gov, follow my orange arrow to sign in.

You will be asked to sign in with another service (LOGIN.gov or ID.me) or establish a new LOGIN.gov or ID.me account. If you are new to LOGIN.gov, go through the dance of creating a new account. For our purposes, it is a second process to gain access to your Social Security account, with the promise that it will be forever once your Social Security account is linked to your LOGIN.me or ID.me credentials.

Signing in, or creating a new LOGIN account are the choices,

Sidebar: This is when password software is a lifesaver. My wife and I use 1Password, and we love it.

2. Once in, you must verify your identity with the Social Security Administration. Here is the form,

Then,

3. New Login.gov users will be asked to link their account with their Social Security Account.

Voila, you should be in.

You Can Learn A Lot

My suggestion is to poke around. Grab a Social Security replacement card. Find a Social Security office. Definitely go to your Social Security Statement. The statement contains detailed information that I found, frankly, amazing. For instance, there is a bubble at the end of page 2 (at least my statement) entitled “Taxes Paid.” It totals out the Social Security and Medicare Taxes you and your employers have paid to date over your working lifetime.

Benefits are what we care about. Out of the box, on page 1, lists your estimated retirement benefits, disability benefits, and benefits available to your eligible family members, with specifics and hyperlinks.

If just getting an appointment to speak with a human is a problem, the 5-10 minutes to establish an SSA.gov account at least feels productive. A reminder: paid subscribers can direct message me.

Lastly, if you are skeptical about the larger issue of Social Security being there for you, I have an essay for you.