The online version of a notice contains the same language as the paper version; however, the format could be different.

A list of notice types available in my Social Security can be viewed in the following attachment:

Users can receive online notices in their my Social Security account by accessing the Message Center in-box that will have hyperlinks to online notices. Online notices are in Portable Document Format (PDF).

Users with a Spanish language preference receive Spanish and English versions of online notices.

The user can choose from four options for how to receive notifications when a new notice or message is available.

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  Email only

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  Text message only

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  Both email and text message

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  None (No notifications)

We use the email address and phone number (for text messages) from the user's my Social Security account. To use a different email address or phone number, users can update their my Social Security account information.

Courtesy notifications do not contain personally identifiable information because they are not secure methods of communication.

If a user is not sure that a notification is from Social Security, advise them to log into their my Social Security account directly from our website at www.ssa.gov instead of responding to the notification or accessing links or files in the notification.

These are exceptions to the communication preferences.

Social Security Statement - my Social Security account users who choose to receive paper notices can only access their Social Security Statement online. We send a paper statement only to workers aged 60 and over who do not receive benefits; and do not have a my Social Security account.

Social Security Benefit Statement (SSA-1099/1042) - Users can get a copy of their tax form SSA-1099 or SSA-1042 online by visiting mySSA.gov. This website allows mySSA Internet Users (IUs) to view, print, save or request a mailed replacement Social Security Benefit Statement. The SSA-1099 and SSA-1042S forms (Social Security Benefit Statements) are used to determine if the beneficiary’s benefits are taxable and to determine the amount the beneficiary is required to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Users with representative payees- Users with representative payees can opt out of paper notices and update their personal preference selection. However, their representative payee or organizational payee will still receive a copy of the notices sent, regardless of the customer's preference.

When a user deactivates their my Social Security account, Social Security removes the online notice preference, and sends future paper notices through USPS mail. If the user has a previously selected SNO format, they will return to receiving their notice in their preferred SNO format.

When a my Social Security account is reactivated, the user can reselect to opt out of receiving paper notices, and will have access to online notices since the reactivation.

When a user’s my Social Security account is blocked, Social Security removes the online notice preference, and sends future paper notices through USPS mail.

When the account is unblocked, the user can update preferences again to stop receiving paper versions of online notices.