The Social Security Administration will be implemented on Monday.
Social Security will now perform anti-fraud control in all telephone applications to obtain benefits and flag claims that could be fraudulent. Those who are marked should verify their identity in person. The agency is also implementing a new policy that prohibits beneficiaries from changing their direct deposit information.
Promoted by the Efficiency Department of the Government of Elon Musk, the agency last month presented the two new efforts they said they aimed to strengthen the verification of identity within the program. The defenders quickly criticized the measures, saying that they would prevent the access of many Americans from their social security payments.
Fearing that they can lose the monthly payments on which they depend, many Social Security beneficiaries have rushed their local field offices, wrongly thinking that they need to verify their identity. Others are flooding the telephone lines of the agencies, asking questions about the new policies and demanding appointments to prove their identity.
Social Security, which is experiencing a massive review led by Doge, has joined the confusion by retreating twice one of the policies in recent weeks.
Initially, the agency said that people could no longer request retirement and disability benefits by telephone, could not sufficiently verify the identities of the applicants in that way. Instead, they would have to use the “My Social Security” online website, which requires identity verification or to enter a field office. The policy entered into force on March 31.
But a week later, the agency announced that the prohibition of the phone would only apply to those who request retirement, survivors or family benefits, not to people who request disability benefits, complementary security income or Medicare. And the officials took the start date to April 14.
Then, at the beginning of April, the agency receded even more politics, announcing that it will continue to allow applicants to archive by phone for all programs, with only those marked about fraud concerns that have to appear in person. The agency said that around 70000 of the 4.5 million claims presented by phone are marked.
“The phone is still a viable option for the public,” said the agency in X when announcing the last amendment.
The defenders, who are concerned that the policy prevents those who are not Saavvy or to travel to an office that receive benefits, cheered the last change.
“The telephone access SSA guarantee for claims is a victory for older Americans,” said Nancy Leamond, AARP executive vice president, in a statement.
The new policy prohibits beneficiaries from changing their direct deposit information also with a voice of fraud concerns. About 40% of the direct deposit fraud of social security for social security calls for banking information, the agency said, and pointed out that the current protocol of asking identification questions is no longer enough.
In the future, beneficiaries will have to change bank accounts through their “My Social Security” website or visit a local office.
The rapid changes in policies also have the agency’s customer service representatives, uncle about what to say to those who call or visit. Not all representatives received training on the new rules about claims before Social Security changed them again in early April, trade union officials said to CNN.
The representatives did not receive updated instructions on the latest changes until noon on Friday and then had only a few hours to certify that they had seen the 13 -minute training video, said Jessica Lapointe, president of the American Federation of Governments, the Centers for the Safety Safety Safety of the governments, the field offices and other units. Employees have many unanswered questions and feel badly prepared to help the people they call and visitors to come on Monday, he continued.
“The hasty and inappropriate training is leaving the workforce without problems to deal with the influx of public research and the demands that this will cause,” said Lapointe.
The uncertainty about the new policies led Kevin Jochems of Broomfield, Colorado, to go to his local Social Security office last month to verify, so he would like any payment. But he was so busy that the only pleasant one to talk to him was a security guard, who told him he needed an appointment. Then he called the agency, but it was disconnected before recovering the option to receive a call.
“To miss a benefit of one month I would take a step to the homeless,” said Jochems, 62, who has cancer. “It is very distressing for people in my situation.”
Jochems is considered a rather informed person who follows the news. But he said that there was a lot of erroneous information about the need for beneficiaries to verify their identities, which led him to try to obtain the right response directly from a representative of the agency.
The changes have also been worrisome for some who are no longer removed. Matt Koob, 66, who works as a health technician at a veterans affairs hospital in Tampa, Florida, plans to request benefits in August. He tried to go to his local office at the end of March to verify his identity so that he could no problem in the future. But he could not enter the office and had to call the number of 800 agencies, which he found very irritating.
“They are telling people,” we want you to do it in person, but we are not going to leave you in the building, “Kooob said.
Wire
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