Some Applicants Will Have to Visit Social Security Offices to Confirm Their Identity Soon

Under a new policy, the Social Security Administration will require certain beneficiaries to visit an office in person to receive benefits.

Beginning April 14, some beneficiaries applying for retirement, survivor, or family benefits must visit an SSA office instead of verifying their identity over the phone. Those who are unable to access or use an online account will have to go to in-person for benefit claims or direct deposit changes.

The administration said these changes would bolster its security services and help avoid Social Security fraud. Advocates and beneficiaries have said that it would increase the difficulty of getting benefits as fewer workers and offices could slow the process.

Originally, the SSA announced these changes would impact all Social Security beneficiaries, and the agency would transition identification verification procedures by March 31. However, in the weeks since making the announcement, they have pushed back the timeline and limited the scope of the rule.

Why Did SSA Revise Its Policy?

Social Security advocates criticized the administration’s original policy, saying it would negatively impact specifically senior citizens living in rural areas.

“They would have to call SSA via the already overburdened phone line to set up an appointment and travel in person to an SSA field office at a time when the agency is closing field offices across the country and radically reducing staff,” Max Richtman, president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement.

After receiving the initial responses, the agency exempted Medicare, Disability, and SSI applicants from the new policy and delayed implementation by more than three weeks.

The SSA plans to cut or avoid spending $800 million this fiscal year, following President Donald Trump’s and the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) goal to reduce federal spending.

Part of these budget cuts include reducing more than 12% of SSA’s workforce, and DOGE has said about 47 of SSA offices are closing. However, the agency itself said only one of the closing offices was a hearing office, and most of the others were small hearing rooms with no assigned employees.