This is not a scam: Social Security needs you to update your online account

Dear Savvy Senior,

I precocious received an email that I needed to update my online Social Security account. Is this legit aliases is it a scam?

Suspicious Susan

Dear Susan,

The Social Security Administration did so nonstop retired a morganatic email past period to notify recipients that they are making changes to nan measurement you entree Social Security’s online services, including your individual “my Social Security” account.

The changes will simplify your sign-in acquisition and align pinch national authentication standards, while astatine nan aforesaid clip supply you safe and unafraid entree to your relationship and different online services.

If you created an online my Social Security relationship earlier September 18, 2021, you’ll request to displacement to a Login.gov relationship to beryllium capable to proceed to entree your account.

Online my Social Security accounts alteration some beneficiaries and group who are not yet receiving benefits to entree services, including requesting Social Security paper replacements, estimating early benefits, checking connected nan position of use applications and managing existent benefits.

The online services purpose to prevention clip for some existent and early beneficiaries, arsenic good arsenic nan Social Security Administration, arsenic nan agency grapples pinch agelong hold times for its nationalist 800 telephone number. The mean velocity to reply those calls was astir 36 minutes successful nan 2nd quarter, according to nan SSA. The agency is moving to bring that mean hold clip down to 12 minutes by nan extremity of September 2025.

Update Your Account

If you already person a my Social Security account, spell to ssa.gov/myaccount and motion successful pinch your Social Security username. You’ll past beryllium guided done nan process of creating a caller relationship pinch Login.gov. Once you successfully nexus your individual my Social Security relationship pinch your caller Login.gov account, you’ll get a confirmation surface and person contiguous entree to online services. In nan future, you’ll motion into your relationship pinch Login.gov and not your Social Security username.

If you already person either a Login.gov aliases ID.me account, you do not person to return immoderate action.

Beware of Scams

To beryllium judge you’re taking nan due steps to update your account, it is important to verify immoderate websites aliases links starring you to nan Social Security website. Legitimate Social Security Administration website nexus is www.ssa.gov and nan agency nexus to my Social Security relationship is www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

It’s very important to beryllium mindful of imaginable scam artists who whitethorn nonstop you fraudulent websites pretending to nonstop you to Social Security. These sites will intimately mimic nan format of nan agency’s links to effort to lure you into entering your individual information.

If you spot a suspicious email aliases link, it is champion not to respond aliases click connected it. Instead, you tin study it to nan website of nan SSA’s Office of nan Inspector General aliases telephone nan fraud hotline astatine 800-269-0271.

Send your elder questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, aliases sojourn SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is simply a contributor to nan NBC Today show and writer of “The Savvy Senior” book.