{"id":56262,"date":"2025-05-13T19:10:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T19:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prosfunds.com\/?p=56262"},"modified":"2025-05-13T19:10:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T19:10:28","slug":"need-a-login-gov-account-to-protect-your-social-security-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prosfunds.com\/?p=56262","title":{"rendered":"Need A Login.Gov Account To Protect Your Social Security Benefits?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Do you remember Telephone<\/em>, the game we played as kids? Someone whispers a message in the first child\u2019s ear, who whispers it to the next in line, and so forth. It always produced howls of laughter when hearing how twisted the message had become.<\/p>\n

In April, we witnessed a 2025 version of Telephone<\/em>. The first message in the chain came from a set of undated Social Security Q&As describing an important change.<\/p>\n

\n \u201cStarting March 29, 2025, when you sign in to your personal my<\/em> Social Security account using your username and password, you will be required to transition to Login.gov to access our online services.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n \u201cIf you do not transition your Social Security username to Login.gov or you don\u2019t have an ID.me account, you will not have access to your personal my<\/em> Social Security account.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The chain\u2019s first message was that, if you do not have a Login.gov or ID.me account, you will not be able to access your Social Security account but there would be a transition period to get one.<\/p>\n

Then, instead of ears, the message passed from website to website.<\/p>\n

Somewhere along the chain, the message changed. Headlines on internet posts threatened that Social Security would pause, interrupt or suspend retirement benefits if not transitioning by the deadline. (This was not part of the original message and benefits would not be affected.) So, instead of laughter, the chain ended in hysteria. Here\u2019s an example.<\/p>\n

On April 15, an 80-year-old woman called my business. She recently read online that if she didn\u2019t have a Login.gov account, there could be an interruption in her Social Security benefits. She was very stressed and had no idea what to do. She needed her benefits.<\/p>\n

I spent some time checking the internet to see whether I could identify where the breakdown started, which turned out to be impossible. Maybe someone reading the Q&As believed that you collect Social Security benefits through a Social Security account so suspending access would suspend benefits. (Federal law mandates that Social Security benefits must be made electronically to a designated account, with no connection to a Social Security account.) In just one sitting, I found 11 website postings and two YouTube videos connecting a failure to set up an account with interruption of benefits. Interestingly, six of those sites were based in Spain, which has no Social Security.<\/p>\n

And, as they say, once it\u2019s on the internet, it stays on the internet. On May 12, I found this AI overview.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial Security beneficiaries are required to transition to using Login.gov for accessing their online accounts and services, starting March 29, 2025. This transition is mandatory to avoid potential interruptions in benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Google Keyword website, \u201cBecause accuracy is paramount in Search, AI Overviews are built to only show information that is backed up by top web results.\u201d AI may have thought that, because the same information appeared on at least 13 sites, it was accurate.<\/p>\n

What You Need to Know<\/strong><\/h2>\n

What We Don\u2019t Know <\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are questions that don\u2019t have answers at this time.<\/p>\n