Posted on 03/28/2025 8:41:08 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Social Security Administration (SSA) said Wednesday that it will not implement a policy that would have required many Americans to visit offices to verify their identities.
Last week, the SSA announced stronger identity proofing measures in a bid to combat fraud, with the policies set to come into effect beginning March 31. One of the policies required beneficiaries who do not have an online “My Social Security account” to visit local Social Security offices for identity verification. However, the agency has now decided not to implement this measure for certain applicants.
Individuals who wish to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or Medicare and cannot use a My Social Security account “can complete their claim entirely over the telephone without the need to come into an office,” the SSA said in a March 26 statement.
The updated policy is effective beginning April 14, two weeks after the previously scheduled date.
Only individuals who seek to apply for retirement, survivors, or auxiliary (spouse or child) benefits but cannot do so online must now visit a Social Security office to prove their identity.
However, this verification may not be enforced in some “extreme dire-need situations,” the agency said.
Commenting on SSA’s decision to ditch in-person identity verification, Lee Dudek, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, said the agency “listened to our customers, Congress, advocates, and others, and we are updating our policy to provide better customer service to the country’s most vulnerable populations.”
He justified the decision to exempt Medicare, Disability, and SSI applications from in-person identity proofing, saying that “multiple opportunities exist during the decision process to verify a person’s identity.”
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, welcomed the SSA’s changes to in-person identity proofing requirements, with Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president at the organization, calling them a “good first step” in responding to the concerns of older Americans. “Ending phone service and requiring in-person office visits would have a very serious impact on older Americans everywhere,” she said.
“Our members nationwide have told us this change would require hundreds of miles and hours of travel merely to fill out paperwork. SSA should be prioritizing customer service effectiveness and efficiency, and as older Americans tell us, the announcement requiring visits caused confusion and distress.”
A group of lawmakers had earlier warned the SSA against implementing in-person identity verification. In a March 19 letter to Dudek, the lawmakers wrote that phone-based benefit claims accounted for around 40 percent of all claims processed by the agency in 2024.
Requiring claims to be filed online or asking people to visit local offices poses problems to many Americans, they said.
“For many beneficiaries, online services are simply not an option due to technological limitations, lack of internet access, or physical and cognitive impairments. Eliminating or reducing phone services would leave these individuals without the support they rely on to manage their benefits,” the letter stated.
“Requiring beneficiaries to seek assistance exclusively online, through artificial intelligence, or in person at SSA field offices would create additional barriers, particularly for those who live far from an office.”
The SSA initially instituted stronger identity proofing measures as a way to “further safeguard Social Security records and benefits against fraudulent activity.”
The decision to impose in-person verification requirements followed persistent concerns about duplicate and fake records in the agency database. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said there were “shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the social security program for our seniors.” Millions of social security members listed in government databases were over 120 years old, he said.
The agency later announced it was “identifying and correcting beneficiary records of people 100 years old or older.”
Now they have some of the fraud issues identified they probably don’t need such draconian procedures.
Not good.
Any big policy change such as this, should be carefully reviewed and debated within the administration, before announcing it to the public. That would lessen the need for another policy walk-back.
Maybe this was done, just to throw a little fright into potential lawbreakers and terrorists trying to slip into America, knowing they would need to make a physical appearance into a facility. That can be a useful tactic if not overdone.
"The Social Security Administration (SSA) said Wednesday [March 26, 2025] that it will not implement a policy that would have required many Americans to visit offices to verify their identities."
P
I had to show up at our local Soc. Sec. office in person just to get my official phone call in date when I retired.
You have to go to the local offices, from my experience, one way or another.
I wonder how many of the people 100 and over have somebody as POA for legal matters, and why the POA would not be able to coach them through an online process.
The problem I see with phone stuff is that I just heard Elon and his DOGE people say that 40% of the phone calls that the SSA receives every day to change the bank account for direct deposits of SS benefits are from fraudsters. Unless you have some password-protected account or some other secure way to verify identity, fraud is going to be rampant.
Part of the issue, as the DOGE folks said, is getting govt databases to communicate with each other so that when a loan is applied for, they can see immediately that it is a 9-month-old’s social security number being used to apply. Same with the old folks. They would have to check age and have some kind of info that isn’t publicly available for the person to verify. But hackers can get that info too and a 110-year-old person might not be able to remember when or where they were born. But if that’s the case, they should have somebody designated as POA to help them with this stuff.
Is this for new SS and/or Medicare appliers only???
This would be interesting to say the least.
However I don’t know how many people don’t have a “My Social Security” account anymore. I know I’ve had one since my 30s.. maybe even 20s.
there are 1230 SS field Offices in the US. However, I would suspect their distribution isn’t equal. For someone in a rural state, unless you live in a city that has one, my bet is your going to have some commuting to get to your closes office, and would these offices even remotely be staffed to level needed to process everyones application in person?
I’m not opposed to the idea, but my bet is, like most things, since going electronic and the web, that no field office is adequately staffed to handle having to process every single applicant by hand if they had to.
Didn’t I read this morning that they estimate that 40% of all phone call changes were fraudulent?
Or am I mis-remembering?
I estimate that all of 100+ citizens in the country probably would fill up a high school football stadium.
Dead recipients are not required to report.
I set up “My Social Security” accounts for my elderly parents a few years ago. This is a good idea for anyone with an elderly relative who does not use computers.
FTA
The decision to impose “in-person verification” requirements followed
persistent concerns about duplicate and fake records in the SS database.
Earlier this month, President Trump said there were “shocking levels
of incompetence and probable fraud in the SS program for our seniors.”
“Millions of SS members listed in govt databases were over 120 years old,” he said.
Why are demonRATS so afraid of Voter I.D., SS I.D. or anybody seeing anything about who they actually are? Because most illegals in the country do not use their real names.
I had a social security account online for several years, then, last August I had to change my phone number.
Suddenly it was near impossible to log on, or keep track of any new passwords I had to cobble together to get on the website.
I went to the Social Sec. office and had a staff re-enter info for me a few months ago. That kind of fixed it, but not completely. Now, I need to visit the office again. I am certainly looking forward to that! (NOT).
They made a mistake. They fixed it.
Good.
I’m concerned about the latest report of 40% of calls to the SSA being fraudsters. If they have determined a method to identify the fraudsters, fine.
EC
BAD DECISION.
The Deep State social-communists (er, democratic slaves) (er, bureaucrats) inside the Social Security administration are caving in to their model.
The AARP is run by racist, overweight liberal democrat party hacks, and has fought for EVERY Obama-Biden-Harris administration failed policy (including Obama care) since 2000.
Right. I couldn’t even get SS to INCREASE my withholding amount over the phone. As it should be.
My Social Security account isn’t perfect, but it is the best way to access SS. Or - just go into their office.
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