The change marks a major improvement in customer service, allowing beneficiaries and applicants to manage their Social Security accounts at any time, day or night. Social Security remains a critical pillar for more than 60 million Americans, whose financial security often depends on timely access to the program's resources.

RI Social Security recipients could get a 2.7% raise in 2026. But Medicare Part B premiums are set to rise even more, eating most of the COLA.

That's better known as the annual Social Security benefits increase, or the raise that Social Security retirees get in most years. The Social Security Administration looks at changes to a basket of goods and services that is included in the consumer price index.