Government benefits information moving to USA.gov in September

Starting next month, U.S. adults looking online to locate benefits they are eligible for will no longer be able to use the government platform that has provided assistance with such inquiries for the past 22 years.

The General Services Administration and the Department of Labor announced Wednesday that USA.gov platforms will absorb the responsibilities of Benefits.gov, in a move to comply with President Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order on customer experience and service delivery. The Spanish version of USA.gov will reflect the English version updates as well. 

The migration is part of a broader government-wide effort to make USA.gov into a “federal front door,” a term coined in the executive order. 

Newly available services on USA.gov include the benefit finder to determine eligibility and locate benefits programs (though it’s unclear whether this will be the same process), category-based navigation to organize benefits information to specific types and new landing pages to offer a one-stop location for information, according to the release. 

“We are excited to build off of the years of Benefits.gov expertise and create a seamless benefits experience,” Ann Lewis, the director of the GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, said in the release. “As the front door to government information and services, USAGov is committed to using data-driven and human-centered design to ensure the public has equitable access to the information it needs.”

The CX-focused executive order states that the GSA administrator is required to consolidate content that currently appears on Benefits.gov and move it to the redesigned USA.gov website “from which customers may navigate to all government benefits, services and programs.” Other “appropriate” websites for this process include Grants.gov.

Benefits.gov was founded in 2002 in order to increase public access to information, reduce costs and improve interactions between the public and the government. The website has served over 220 million people and increased access to more than 1,100 government benefits, according to the release.

“For 20 years, Benefits.gov was a leading example of interagency collaboration, technological innovation and customer experience,” DOL CIO Gundeep Ahluwalia said in the release. “The collaboration with GSA to have USA.gov become the new destination for benefits information demonstrates what’s possible in providing streamlined services for the public.”