Why Open a my Social Security Account?
I’ve written about this before, I want to encourage you again to go to ssa.gov/myaccount and open a Social Security account. This is not just for people who are close to retirement. Everyone should open their own account with SSA—before someone else does.
Here’s Why:
I heard about a woman the other day that tried to open her my Social Security account; she was told that an account had already been opened under that Social Security number. The security questions used to establish her identity were not questions she would have chosen. I have not heard the outcome of this, but I’ve been reading some chilling stories about hackers applying for benefits using stolen Social Security numbers. The best defense against someone else opening an account or applying for benefits under your number is to open your own account and check it often. This is especially true for anyone over full retirement age who has not yet applied for benefits.
The second reason to open a my Social Security account is to make sure someone else isn’t receiving benefits under your number. By opening an account and checking back fairly regularly, clients can monitor activity. Clients over full retirement age who haven’t applied for benefits yet should be especially watchful. It seems the hackers are waiting until people turn 66 ½ and applying at that time so they can get six months of retroactive benefits in a lump sum.
For clients who are worried about online security, the my Social Security account website seems to be very secure. It requires a user name and strong password that must be changed every six months. Each login requires a unique code sent by text or email. For an extra layer of protection people can set it up to require answers to financial or identity verification questions. Not setting up a my Social Security account is the riskier option.
After the 2017 Equifax hack, if you froze your credit files (like I recommended), you will need to lift the freeze long enough to open the my Social Security account, since SSA accesses users’ credit files to verify their identity. The credit inquiry by SSA comes up as a “soft” inquiry which does not affect a person’s credit score.
Once the account is set up, you can access your latest Social Security statement on demand. This is important for anyone under age 60 who will not receive a statement in the mail, or for anyone over 60 who may have misplaced their paper statement.
If you are working, you should check your earnings record each year. We recommend May of every year — employers usually report by March or so. If you are currently receiving benefits, you can see the record of payments and the breakdown of each payment: gross amount and deductions for Medicare premiums and taxes. You can download a benefit verification letter, which serves as proof to lenders or anyone else requiring evidence of income, that you are receiving Social Security benefits in the amount shown on the letter.
