Login.gov & ID.me:
Set Up Your Government Login Before You Need It

The government retired your old password

If you made a my Social Security account before September 2021, you had an SSA username and password. Those are gone — everyone now signs in through Login.gov or ID.me. Your benefits didn't change. Your record didn't change. Only the front door changed. The VA has made the same switch, the IRS has used ID.me for years, and Medicare added verified sign-in options in early 2026.

Why? The old passwords were easy pickings for crooks filing fake claims in other people's names. The new logins check that you're actually you — once — and then guard the door with a code to your phone. Annoying for one hour, protective for years. The trick is doing it on a quiet Tuesday morning, on your schedule, instead of in a panic the week a benefit question can't wait.

Login.gov or ID.me — which one do I pick?

• Login.gov is my default recommendation. It's run by the federal government itself, one free account opens Social Security, the VA, Medicare's new option, and more — and if online verification fails, you can finish in person at a participating post office.
• ID.me is a private company under government contract, also free for these sign-ins. Get it when a site requires it — the IRS does; Login.gov won't open that door.
• ID.me's backup route is a live video call with an agent — it works from a home computer with a webcam, no smartphone needed.
• Having both is perfectly fine. They don't conflict — they're two keys on the same ring. Write down which you chose; six months from now, "which one did I use?" is the most common question.

What identity-proofing actually asks for

• Photos of your driver's license or state ID, front and back — it must be current, not expired. Check the date on yours today.
• Your Social Security number — you type the number; nobody needs the card itself.
• Your phone number — the check works best if the number is billed in your name.
• Sometimes a selfie, taken on the spot, to match your face to the license photo.
• An email address of your own — not one you share with a spouse.
• That's the whole list. No bank statements, no fee, no in-law's maiden name. If a site — or a caller — asks for more than this, especially money, stop.

Step by step: Login.gov for Social Security

1. Type ssa.gov into the address bar yourself. Click Sign in, then Create an account → Login.gov.
2. Enter your email and click the confirmation link that arrives.
3. Create a strong password — three unrelated words plus a number beats anything clever. Write down where you stored it.
4. Choose how sign-in codes reach you. A text to your cell is the simplest start; a voice call to the house phone works too. Say yes to backup codes and print them.
5. Verify your identity: photograph the license (daylight near a window, license flat on a dark placemat — glare is the #1 fixable failure), take the selfie if asked, type your SSN, and do the phone check.
6. Login.gov hands you back to ssa.gov, you agree to the terms, and there's your record — benefit amount, payment dates, earnings history. Sign all the way out and back in once, to prove you can.

If the computer says no, you're not stuck

• Phone not in your name? Family plan, prepaid — the phone check fails through no fault of yours. Login.gov can mail a letter with a one-time code instead; it takes about a week.
• Whole check fails on Login.gov? Choose the in-person option. You get an emailed barcode, good for about 7 days — take it with the same license to a participating post office (check the locator first). Two minutes at the counter, result by email within about a day.
• ID.me's Plan B is a live video call — you upload documents, then a real agent looks at you and them over a webcam and vouches that you're you. Built exactly for people without smartphones.
• Don't hammer at a failed check — attempts aren't unlimited. Stop, note where it balked, and take the side door. It opens on the first knock more often than the front door does.

One person, one account — no exceptions

• These logins are tied to one human being — your name, your SSN, your face. Married fifty years or not, you and your spouse each need your own account, each with its own email address.
• Never borrow a spouse's login to peek at their benefits — it won't show your record, and mismatched sign-ins are a fast road to a locked account.
• Helpers can sit alongside, read screens aloud, do the typing, and hold the phone for photos — but the person being verified must be present. Setting it up from another city with Mom's documents looks like impersonation to the system, even with the purest heart.
• Creating this login changes nothing about your benefits. You're putting a better lock on a door — the house behind it stays exactly as it was.

The scams that follow every new login

• "Your Social Security number has been suspended." SSNs don't get suspended. Ever. Hang up.
• "Read me the code we just sent your phone." That code is your key — no legitimate caller will ever ask for it. None.
• "We can verify you for a $49 fee." Both services are free. A fee IS the scam.
• Emails saying your account will be deleted in 24 hours lead to look-alike sites that harvest passwords. Real notices don't work this way.
• The rules that beat every version: type the addresses yourself — ssa.gov, login.gov, id.me — never click a link about your account, and remember that real identity checks start when you visit, never with their call.

What's in the 27-page PDF

• What changed and why — Social Security, IRS, VA, and Medicare, in plain English
• The 60-second version: the whole job on one page
• Login.gov vs. ID.me — which to pick, and a full side-by-side comparison table
• The one-account-per-person rule, and the shared-email fix for couples
• Exactly what identity-proofing asks for — the complete list, no surprises
• The five common snags (phone in a family member's name, name changes, no smartphone, glare, expired license) and the fix for each
• Login.gov's backup routes: the mailed code letter and the post-office counter, step by step
• ID.me's live video call — how it works from a home computer with a webcam
• How helpers can help without breaking it — what you can and must not do for a parent
• Step-by-step setup: creating the account, passing the identity check, landing in My Social Security
• What to write down, what never to share, and the refrigerator checklist
• The scam scripts to expect, common kitchen-table questions, and a plain-English glossary

Why I wrote this

The switch to these logins catches good people off guard — usually at the worst moment, like the week a benefit question can't wait. Set up calmly, it's an hour you spend once. So I wrote the calm version: every screen, every snag, every backup route, in the order you'll meet them. I print my guides as handouts because a page you can hold beats a screen you can lose, and setting up government logins at kitchen tables is genuinely one of my most common $99 visits. — Bill