If a surprise payment in the $6,000 range shows up in your bank account from the Social Security Administration, its legit! NBC 5 Responds has been hearing from retirees who say they’ve received the extra cash, but they don’t know why.
The Social Security Administration has updated the changes they are making to identity verification measures, delaying the start date for the new requirements and adding some exceptions.
“We have listened to our customers, Congress, advocates, and others, and we are updating our policy to provide better customer service to the country’s most vulnerable populations,” Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, said in a statement Wednesday evening. “In addition to extending the policy’s effective date by two weeks to ensure our employees have the training they need to help customers, Medicare, Disability, and SSI applications will be exempt from in-person identity proofing because multiple opportunities exist during the decision process to verify a person’s identity.”
The new start date for the changes will shift from March 31 to April 14, the agency announced.
Among the updates are an exception that anyone applying for Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare or Supplemental Security Income who can't verify their identity online will be allowed to complete their claims over the phone "without the need to come into an office."
Previous announcements had said anyone applying for cash benefits or changing their direct deposit information would need to provide proof of identity. Those who receive payment via paper checks will also need to prove their identity before changing their mailing address.
Those who don't have a my Social Security account would need to visit an office in person to verify their identity.
Now, the office said anyone who "cannot use their personal my Social Security account to apply for benefits will only need to prove their identity at a Social Security office if applying for Retirement, Survivors, or Auxiliary (Spouse or Child) benefits."
"SSA will enforce online digital identity proofing or in-person identity proofing for these cases. The agency will not enforce these requirements in extreme dire-need situations, such as terminal cases or prisoner pre-release scenarios. SSA is currently developing a process that will require documentation and management approval to bypass the policy in such dire need cases," the administration said.
Here's what to know:
How can you prove your identity if you need to?
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The main way to prove your identity with Social Security is via their my Social Security account portal.
Those who cannot do so online can still start their claims over the phone, but some claims will not be processed until that person also verifies their identity in person at a Social Security office.
“For far too long, the agency has used antiquated methods for proving identity. Social Security can better protect Americans while expediting service," Dudek said in a previous statement.
What do you need in order to prove your identity?
According to the Social Security Administration, only certain documents qualify as proof of identity.
"An acceptable document must be current (not expired) and show your name, identifying information (date of birth or age) and preferably a recent photograph," the agency states on it website.
Examples include:
- U.S. driver's license.
- State-issued non-driver identification card.
- U.S. passport.
If you do not have one of these or cannot get a replacement within 10 days, other documents may be used. Those include:
- Employee identification card.
- School identification card.
- Health insurance card (not a Medicare card).
- U.S. military identification card.
More document information can be found here.
How to find your local Social Security office?
Those needing to visit a local office can call (800) 772-1213 to schedule an in-person appointment. You can also use this Social Security office locator tool.
What other changes are being made?
Direct deposit
In addition to the identity verification change, the agency announced that it plans to expedite processing of recipients’ direct deposit change requests – both in person and online – to one business day. Previously, online direct deposit changes were held for 30 days.
Debt collection
The SSA announced Thursday that it would immediately resume collecting debt through its Treasury Offset Program.
The program had been suspended "due to the economic challenges posted by the COVID-19 pandemic."
The collection will be for debts accrued prior to March 2020.
According to the agency, the Treasury Offset Program "is a centralized program designed to collect delinquent debts owed to federal and state agencies by intercepting Federal and state payments."
“Resuming collections through the Treasury Offset Program is a critical step in our commitment to being good stewards of taxpayer funds and ensuring the integrity of our programs,” Dudek said in a release. “We are dedicated to recovering overpayments while providing individuals with the necessary information and options to address their debts.”
Locations Closing
The plans come as the agency is set to shutter dozens of Social Security offices throughout the country and has already laid out plans to lay off thousands of workers.
The DOGE website says that leases for 47 Social Security field offices across the country, including in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky and North Carolina, have been or will be ended. However, Dudek downplayed the impact of its offices shuttering, saying many were small remote hearing sites that served few members of the public.
Why are the changes being made?
The Trump administration said Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is targeting waste in the federal government and Musk has been focused on Social Security as an alleged hotbed of fraud, describing it as a “ponzi scheme” and insisting that reducing waste in the program is an important way to cut government spending.
“The Social Security Administration is losing over $100 million a year in direct deposit fraud,” Dudek said. “Social Security can better protect Americans while expediting service.”
He said a problem with eliminating fraudulent claims is that “the information that we use through knowledge-based authentication is already in the public domain.”
“This is a common sense measure,” Dudek added.
