The plan by the Social Security Administration to mandate in-person identity verifications for millions of new and existing recipients, all while shutting down government offices, has ignited outrage among lawmakers, advocacy groups, and program beneficiaries who fear that this move creates unnecessary obstacles for an already vulnerable demographic.
The new requirements will affect anyone needing to confirm their bank details with the agency, including families with children receiving Social Security benefits who can’t verify a child’s information online via the SSA website. These changes are designed to address fraud and waste within the system, which President Donald Trump and his administration have claimed are extensive.
Starting March 31, those unable to successfully verify their identity using the agency’s “my Social Security” online service will have to visit an agency field office in person to complete the verification. Additionally, the agency announced that Social Security field offices nationwide will be closing.
According to an analysis by the Associated Press, of the 47 SSA field offices scheduled for closure on the Department of Government Efficiency website, 26 are set to close this year, with some closures taking effect as soon as next month.
This shift, coupled with the looming closure of field offices across the nation and a plan for mass layoffs within the agency, threatens to significantly delay services, advocates warn. AARP’s Nancy LeaMond stated that discontinuing phone verification “will lead to more complications and longer wait times for resolving routine customer service inquiries.”
LeaMond, the chief advocacy and engagement officer at AARP, remarked that the announcement “comes as a complete surprise and is being implemented on an impractical fast-track.”
“The SSA needs to be transparent about its service changes and solicit input from older Americans who will be impacted. Any delay in Social Security caused by this change can lead to real economic hardship,” LeaMond added.
Agency leaders announced Tuesday that they would begin training frontline employees and management on the new policy over the next two weeks.
Democratic pushback was immediate. A group of 62 House Democrats wrote on Wednesday to the agency’s acting commissioner, Leland Dudek, raising concerns about how the changes could adversely affect older beneficiaries in remote areas and those with limited internet access.
“Forcing beneficiaries to seek help solely online, through artificial intelligence, or in person at SSA offices would create additional barriers, particularly for individuals living far from an office,” they wrote. “We strongly urge you to consider those who might be negatively impacted.”
One Social Security recipient, 80-year-old Sandi Bachom from New York, expressed her fear regarding the changes.
“What would occur if I didn’t receive that check?” she questioned. “I have no family. Everyone has passed. There’s no one to support me.”
Bachom, a retired documentary filmmaker, credits Social Security with “saving my life” after losing a six-figure advertising job and facing financial struggles.
White House: “We’re prioritizing seniors”
Harrison Fields, a spokesman for the White House, told The AP that the goal of the modification is to “reduce vulnerabilities to fraud.”
“This is about looking out for seniors,” Fields asserted.
Dudek stated that the agency estimates around $100 million in direct deposit fraud every year. However, congressional testimony from an SSA inspector general official in May 2023 revealed that “from January 2013 through May 2018, fraudsters redirected $33.5 million in benefits meant for 20,878 beneficiaries” through unauthorized changes to direct deposits on the agency’s website.
The agency distributes approximately $1.6 trillion yearly in old-age and disability benefits.
The end of phone service identification could dramatically affect some recipients, especially families with children who will need to visit an SSA office, as minors cannot create online accounts on the “my Social Security” portal.
Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, stated, “This will complicate the process for Americans to claim their earned benefits. It could even lead to major delays and potentially collapse the system by overwhelming field offices.”
Altman believes that the administration’s ultimate aim is to privatize the Social Security system.
Travel burdens for low-income seniors
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear expressed concern that “some of our oldest Kentuckians, who are living on fixed incomes and lack the means to travel, will have to travel hours for basic queries.”
“Why? Because they don’t want them to do it, and they want to prevent them from accessing services. It’s unjust,” the Democrat lamented. “These are qualifying individuals, and the federal government has a duty to provide enough offices, call-in options, or other resources to effectively process applications and answer people’s questions.”
“My concern is that what Elon Musk is trying to do is dismantle government rather than improve it.”
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has assigned staff to various agencies to seek ways to downsize the federal government. Musk has advocated debunked theories regarding Social Security, describing federal benefit programs as a “Ponzi scheme” filled with fraud.
Bachom, who depends on her Social Security check arriving mid-month, noted that people she knows are alarmed by the recent actions taken by the administration.
“We’re all anxious,” she stated. “And we shouldn’t have to be anxious at this age because someone might rob us.”
