The Social Security Administration (SSA) is implementing key updates to its identity verification processes, focusing on enhanced security measures.
According to Newsweek, beginning March 31, individuals seeking benefits or altering direct deposit details will no longer be able to verify their identity via phone.
Instead, they will be required to use online services or visit a local SSA office. These changes are part of ongoing efforts to reduce fraud and better protect millions of recipients.
New identity verification procedures
As part of an effort to combat fraud, the SSA is implementing stronger identity proofing measures for all individuals making new benefit claims or changing their direct deposit information.
The transition will begin on March 31, and those who are unable to verify their identity online will be required to visit a local SSA office for in-person verification.
Over the next two weeks, SSA will carefully transition to stronger identity proofing procedures for both benefit claims and direct deposit changes – the SSA stated
The change reflects the agency’s ongoing commitment to protecting Social Security records with greater integrity and vigilance, as Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of the SSA, emphasized :
Americans deserve to have their Social Security records protected with the utmost integrity and vigilance. For far too long, the agency has used antiquated methods for proving identity. Social Security can better protect Americans while expediting service.
This change is aimed at curbing the over $100 million in direct deposit fraud the SSA loses annually. While these measures are aimed at improving the safety of Social Security transactions, they come with potential risks of delays and longer processing times.
Impact on Service Delivery
With staffing cuts and office closures already affecting the SSA, there are concerns about the capacity of field offices to handle the increased foot traffic.
An estimated 75,000 to 85,000 people may need to visit field offices weekly to complete identity verification if they cannot use online services. This could significantly strain resources and extend wait times for services.
Additionally, the SSA has announced that they plan to speed up the processing of direct deposit change requests. Both online and in-person requests will now be processed within one business day, compared to the 30-day waiting period that was previously required for online changes.
Challenges and Criticisms
The new policies have sparked concerns from critics who argue that the changes may disproportionately affect vulnerable individuals, including the elderly and disabled.
Representative John B. Larson and advocacy groups, such as the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, have raised alarms about the difficulties many Americans may face in accessing in-person services at a time when SSA offices are closing and staff numbers are being reduced.
Critics have also accused the SSA of using these changes to create chaos. Max Richtman, the president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, stated:
These latest developments are part of a clear pattern : Elon Musk, DOGE, and their acolytes at SSA are engaged in an intentional campaign to make it harder for Americans to collect their hard-earned Social Security benefits.
Intentionally constructing obstacles for the people who’ve earned these benefits (and who pay for SSA operations with every paycheck) betrays at the least an indifference—and more likely, an outright hostility—to the elderly, people with disabilities, their families, and survivors who rely on Social Security
Further criticism was expressed by Representative John B. Larson, who claimed that
Their memo confirms they are out to gut Social Security to pay for $2 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent.
By requiring seniors and disabled Americans to enroll online or in person at the same field offices they are trying to close, rather than over the phone, Trump and Musk are trying to create chaos and inefficiencies at SSA so they can privatize the system.
The changes follow a memo leak, which outlined the potential negative effects these new policies could have on Social Security claimants.
In the leaked document, Doris Diaz, the acting deputy commissioner of operations, mentioned that
the consequence of reduced service channels could be significant,
Especially for those who rely on in-person verification. She added,
For example, an individual who closes a bank account could have benefits suspended if unable to access in-person service
and that
An individual plainly entitled to benefits” could be “prevented from applying.
