From NextGov/FCW:
… The Social Security Administration hit its target of reaching 105 million 'my Social Security' accounts — an online portal Americans use to access services — by the end of the month, an agency spokesperson told Nextgov/FCW on Friday. The agency now aims to reach 110 million by the end of next September, per a strategic plan released in August.
But that 110 million goal is far less lofty than the target SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano told Congress about last year: 200 million online accounts by the end of 2026.
The SSA spokesperson said the agency continues to strive for 200 million my Social Security account holders, but they did not offer a target date. …
Adults generally interact with SSA in very specific moments of their lives, which explains much of the tepid adoption in the younger age bracket, Arabella Crawford, a civic tech consultant and Tech Viaduct contributor, told Nextgov/FCW. Those moments include turning 65, being diagnosed with a disability or changing their legal name, she explained. …
Many [potential claimants] are also not technologically savvy, lack internet access or have disabilities that make it difficult to use technology …
Clients ran into issues using my Social Security accounts’ digital identity verification services, she explained. For example, some clients found it difficult to use video proofing on ID.me — a digital identity validation service used across several agencies — while others had to wait for the government’s in-house option, Login.gov, to send codes through the mail, she said. …
8 comments:
I don’t get the obsessing over account targets as though the agency is some equity firm. Make the option available and if people sign up, fine, but if not: who cares?
File online to play phone tag later to resolve all your issues!
That’s true of some interactions but not all. For every transaction you can take care of online with no humans in the loop,, there is a corresponding increase in time freed up to do something else for an overworked employee. The more people signed up for accounts, the better the chance such online transactions will take place. Pretty straightforward.
Previous SSA employee here until 2025 when I chose to retire rather than deal with criminal and drug addicted management. I had a pre-existing SSA account and even I had trouble getting into my account last year. I was required to go to the post office to ‘verify my identity’. If someone like me can’t easily navigate these shitty new processes don’t expect to hit that goal Frank!
If people sign up years before they need anything, I doubt they'll remember how to log back in when they do need something. It's great to offer the accounts and some conscientious people will check on their Social Security Statements (more people should do it but that doesn't mean they will). There are SSA performance metrics I care a lot more about than whether another 50 million people register for mySocialSecurity accounts, and things I think the agency should track that they currently don't seem to care about at all (one example: how long it takes to pay out retroactive benefits to people who win their disability cases).
"A confusing portal, a dropped call, a process just opaque enough to discourage follow-through. At scale, they function less like bugs than like policy."
Agree, I also retired last September. Tried to access MySSA and could not access the account. Walked over to the administrator and found out that I had 3 accounts due to testing. He showed me how to remove 2 of the accounts, been accessing my account since. Glad I had inside help.
There is so much to complain about with regard to how SSA carries out its mission. Urging people to sign up for mySSA accounts is just common sense, as long as people still have the option to handle things in person or over the phone as needed, based on their personal circumstances. It’s too bad everything is not this straightforward and seemingly non-controversial.
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