A lot will be different in 2025. Some of the most important changes to Social Security have been going on for four months now.
Today, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is making changes to its online resources so that people who get benefits and people who will get benefits in the future can find out more about them in more ways.
Changes to the way Social Security works
As we already said, the changes started earlier this year when the “my Social Security” account was moved from the old server to the safe login that most government offices use.
Some of the SSA’s processes were brought up to date and made easier for Americans to get to and use because of this change.
To show this, look at the COLA notice. In December of every year, the SSA tells people about the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) payments that will happen in January. You used to be able to print this notice, and you will again this year.
That is why it was so long: it had all the important information that people would need for the next year. This year, the notice will be posted online in the “my Social Security” account, which will make it easier to read and find.
The new format—on a single page and in simple, direct language—will help people who get benefits understand any changes, such as the COLA. There will be important details on it, like exact dates, new benefit amounts, and any cuts that apply.
Also, the “my Social Security” account has been changed so that people can pick how they get their other important messages all year long. Paper was the only way to get information in the past. Beneficiaries can now pick how they want to be notified when new information is added to their account.
The users can pick between getting alerts by email, text message, or both. This will help users stay up-to-date more quickly and directly, making sure they know about all changes right away and in the right way.
Postal mail gets lost because of wrong or incomplete addresses or other outside causes. This is a big reason for the changes.
Also, just because the mail is brought does not mean it will reach the right person. A lot of people have missed important messages because of this.
A lot of people had bad things happen, so they had to call the government to try to fix something that should not have happened in the first place.
The last big change the portal is making is that papers can now be shown online instead of paper copies that need to be signed. By making it easier to show the right paperwork, it will be faster and easier to get benefits.
By improving the user experience and making information clearer and shorter, the SSA’s changes show that they care about being open and making information easy to find.
Making the change to the new website was also done to make sure it would be safer. The old platform did what it was supposed to do, but the new one lets users do more. For example, they can sign and show forms that give people more benefits.
More private data could be stolen because of this. The new change will protect the “My Social Security” site better in case there is a breach.
