Why the Social Security Administration may want you to update your personal account online

The Social Security Administration is updating its online services.

To make sure you can continue to access your account, the agency is urging you to log in, particularly if you created your online “my Social Security” account before Sept. 18, 2021. These account holders will soon have to transition to a Login.gov account to access online Social Security services.

The online “my Social Security” accounts enable both beneficiaries and people who are not yet receiving benefits to access services, including requesting Social Security card replacements, estimating future benefits, checking on the status of benefit applications and managing current benefits.

The online services aim to save time for both current and future beneficiaries, as well as the Social Security Administration, as the agency grapples with long wait times for its national 800 phone number. The average speed to answer those calls was about 36 minutes in the second quarter, according to the Social Security Administration. The agency is working to bring that average wait time down to 12 minutes by the end of September 2025.