Social Security in-person identity checks opposed by advocates and retirees alike

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration's plan to require in-person identity checks for millions of new and existing recipients while simultaneously closing government offices has sparked a furor among lawmakers, advocacy groups and program recipients who are worried that the government is placing unnecessary barriers in front of an already vulnerable population.

The new requirements will impact anyone who needs to verify their bank information with the agency, as well as families with children who receive Social Security benefits and cannot verify a child's information on the SSA website. They are intended to combat fraud and waste within the system, which President Donald Trump and officials in his administration have claimed is widespread.

The agency announced Tuesday that, beginning March 31st, those who cannot properly verify their identity over the agency’s “my Social Security” online service will be required to visit an agency field office in person to complete the verification process. They also announced recently that Social Security field offices across the country will be closing.

Of the 47 SSA field offices listed for closure on the Department of Government Efficiency website, 26 are slated for closure this year, with some taking effect as early as next month, according to an Associated Press analysis of the data.

That change, in addition to the impending closure of field offices across the country, and a plan to reduce the agency workforce with mass layoffs, could result in massive delays to services, advocates say. Nancy LeaMond of the AARP said eliminating phone verification “will result in more headaches and longer wait times to resolve routine customer service needs."

Leamond, the AARP's chief advocacy and engagement officer, said the announcement “not only comes as a total surprise but is on an impractical fast-track.”

“SSA needs to be transparent about its service changes and seek input from the older Americans who will be affected. Because any delay in Social Security caused by this change can mean real economic hardship,” LeaMond said.

Agency leaders said Tuesday that the agency would begin training frontline employees and management about the new policy for the next two weeks.

Pushback from Democrats came quickly. A group of 62 House Democrats wrote Wednesday to the agency's acting commissioner, Leland Dudek, to express concern about how the changes could hurt older beneficiaries in remote areas and people with limited internet access.

“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,” they wrote. “We strongly urge you to consider the individuals who may be harmed."

One Social Security recipient, 80-year-old Sandi Bachom of New York, said she was terrified by the change.

“What would happen if I didn’t get that check?" she said. "I don’t have any family. Everybody’s dead. There’s no one to take care of me.”

Bachom, a retired documentary filmmaker, credits Social Security with “saving my life” after losing a six-figure advertising job and falling on hard times.

Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman told The AP that the intention of the change is “stopping vulnerabilities to fraud.”

“We’re looking out for seniors by doing this,” Fields said.

In announcing the changes, Dudek said that the agency sees $100 million in direct deposit fraud every year. However, congressional testimony from an official with the SSA inspector general in May 2023 said that “from January 2013 through May 2018 fraudsters redirected $33.5 million in benefits intended for 20,878 beneficiaries" and made unauthorized direct deposit changes through the agency's website.

The agency distributes roughly $1.6 trillion in old-age and disability benefits annually.

The end of phone service identification could be dramatic for some recipients, including families with children who will be required to visit an SSA office, since children can’t open online accounts through the “my Social Security" online service.

Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, said "this will make it far harder for the American people to claim their earned benefits. It could even cause major delays, and ultimately collapse the system, by overwhelming the field offices.”

Altman, of the advocacy group, believes the administration's ultimate goal is to privatize the Social Security system.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he is concerned that “some of our oldest Kentuckians, who are living on a fixed income, who don’t have the resources to travel, have to travel hours to get basic questions answered.”

“Why? Because they don’t want them to do it, and they want to be able to kick them off. It’s not right," the Democrat said. “These are people who qualify and the federal government has an obligation to have enough offices, call-in or other resources to ultimately process the applications that are out there and answer the questions that people have.

“My concern is that what Elon Musk is trying to do is break government, not fix it.”

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has embedded staffers in various agencies to look for ways to shrink the federal government. Musk has pushed debunked theories about Social Security and described the federal benefit programs as a “ Ponzi scheme ” rife with fraud.

Bachom, the New Yorker who depends on her monthly Social Security check arriving at the middle of the month, said people she knows were alarmed by what they have heard about steps the administration has taken.

“We’re all freaked out,” she said. “And we shouldn’t have to be freaked out at this age that somebody is going to rob us.”

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Sedensky reported from New York. Associated Press reporters Chris Megerian and Meg Kinnard in Washington and Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, Ky contributed to this report.