The Social Security Administration (SSA) will potentially be undergoing yet another change soon and if this change is enacted, many senior citizens may be faced with a new hurdle when attempting to contact the agency with any queries they may have. Over the course of the year thus far, the agency has been already faced various changes under the new Trump Administration — from the updated 50% withholding rate for overpaid benefits, to the appointment of a new SSA Commissioner in May, and even a restructuring of the agency wherein around 7,000 employees were let go as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s cutback plans.
Now, in an attempt to curb any potential for fraud over the telephone, the SSA is planning to add new steps in the identity verification process for beneficiaries. Here is what you need to know.
Social Security Administration increases anti-fraud measures
In May, Frank Bisignano had been officially appointed as the Commissioner of the SSA following a nomination for the role from President Donald Trump in January. Bisignano has since shared that he is working towards making the SSA a “digital-first organization” and it appears that this latest attempt to curb any potential for fraud is a step in this direction.
Senior citizens who wish to make any changes to their accounts or view their benefit claim status will no longer be able to do so over the telephone with ease as their identity will first need to be verified online or in-person at an SSA field office. “The agency is expanding its online authentication requirement for address changes, claim status requests, benefit verification letters and tax statements,” as per the regulatory filing submitted to the Office of Management and Budget by Social Security recently.
If approved, the SSA will implement this change to its systems as soon as August 18th. With this new system of verification, users will first need to verify their identity online on their my Social Security account by means of a one-time PIN that will be generated to them. The alternate to this is to visit an SSA field office directly, however, many advocacy groups have shared that either of these processes may prove to be difficult for senior citizens or those living with disabilities.
“For many older Americans, the phone is how they access Social Security services without having to rely on complicated technology or long, difficult, or costly trips to field offices,” Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer of AARP, wrote in a letter to SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano on Tuesday. “We are concerned that under this new policy, older Americans, especially those in rural areas, will have to call, wait on hold for possibly hours, and then wait weeks for an appointment — and in some cases even take time off work — to complete simple transactions they have long been able to do over the phone.”
Impact on beneficiaries
In the filing, the agency wrote that the expectation is that on a yearly basis, 3.4 million individuals will now have to visit a field office to fulfill their queries. In the filing, the agency specifically writes that the expectation is that “3.4 million respondents who decline to use SAP (Security Authentication PIN) and visit a field office for in-person identity proofing.”
Contrary to the filing, however, an SSA spokesperson reached out to CNN via email to clarify that the new identification process is “completely optional” despite there being no clear statement of this process being optional in the filing.
Additionally, Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, has asserted that there is no precedence for fraud caused by requesting address changes or other similar queries via telephone. “There’s just no evidence that this is a problem,” Romig stated.
“The new anti-fraud policies will increase field visits by 17%, requiring beneficiaries to spend 3 million hours driving to offices to complete their transactions,” as per estimates from Romig.