Listen Up Please – Create and Test your My Social Security Account!

We included one video a while back about setting up a My Social Security Account but we want to urge viewers who haven’t heeded that advice to do so, especially if you happen to be approaching your 65th birthday. One needs a username and password to a My Social Security Account in order to use the online tool to enroll in Medicare Part A and Part B during the Initial Enrollment Period. And, of course, should you choose to work beyond age 65, the username and password are required to enroll in Medicare Part A which you need to do to get a Medicare number so you can later enroll in Medicare Part B during a Special Enrollment Process. To create the account, go to ssa.gov and scroll down on the left-hand side to the icon of a hand and proceed.

Social Security continues to tweak the registration process in order to provide extra security. You’ll note when you go to create an account, you are prompted to enter the username and password if you created the account prior to September 18, 2021 or to sign in with login.gov if you created your account after that date, see adjacent screen page. However, a client recently shared with us that she had created an account prior to September 2021 but couldn’t log on to her account. She concluded that her difficulty was due to her email address being her username. We suggest that if you used an email address as your username, you test the system by logging in.

The point is to be assured that you have access to the information and to verify that it is correct.

Sometimes unusual things happen. Another client who was recently transitioning to Medicare around his 65th birthday, couldn’t create an account and ultimately learned that Social Security had an incorrect date of birth on file for him. Years ago, we had a client’s Medicare application temporarily derailed because her place of birth on a marriage certificate was incorrect. Again, mistakes happen so make sure you have access to your account and review the information the government has on file for accuracy.

Please also note that if you’re currently creating an account because you are about to turn 65 and want to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B during your Initial Enrollment Period, please do not request an extra layer of security now. The feedback we’ve gotten from clients is that it delays the process. We suggest finishing your Medicare enrollment in A and B and then subsequently adding the extra layer of security.