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By Aliss Higham
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Social Security identity checks will be changing in April following an announcement from the Social Security Administration (SSA) earlier this week.
Why It Matters
The changes will impact the roughly 70 million beneficiaries of the SSA, which pays out billions in benefits every month.
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What To Know
Starting March 31, benefit claimants will no longer have the option to verify their identity with the SSA over the phone. The changes are aimed at helping to avoid the fraudulent redirection of benefit checks.
Between January 2013 and May 2018, fraudsters manipulated direct deposit information to divert $33.5 million in benefits from 20,878 recipients, according to audits by the SSA's Office of the Inspector General.
Announcing the changes on Tuesday, the SSA said in a statement: "Over the next two weeks, SSA will carefully transition to stronger identity proofing procedures for both benefit claims and direct deposit changes.
"Individuals seeking these services who cannot use their personal 'my Social Security' account, which requires online identity proofing, will then need to visit a local Social Security office to prove their identity in person."
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This means those wishing to apply for benefits must either do it online or in person. The SSA has clarified anyone who cannot use the agency's online "my Social Security" services to start their claim for benefits on the telephone.
"The agency therefore recommends calling to request an in-person appointment to begin and complete the claim in one interaction," the federal department said in a press release on March 18.
It also plans to accelerate the processing of both online and in-person direct deposit change requests to one business day, down from the 30 days.
Does This Impact Current Beneficiaries?
The identity verification changes will only impact current beneficiaries if they need to change their direct deposit information and are unable to verify who they are online.
What People Are Saying
Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of the SSA, said in a statement on March 18: "Americans deserve to have their Social Security records protected with the utmost integrity and vigilance. For far too long, the agency has used antiquated methods for proving identity. Social Security can better protect Americans while expediting service."
Max Richtman, the president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told Newsweek in a statement on Tuesday: "Intentionally constructing obstacles for the people who've earned these benefits (and who pay for SSA operations with every paycheck) betrays at the least an indifference—and more likely, an outright hostility—to the elderly, people with disabilities, their families and survivors who rely on Social Security."
Payment Dates for April
Benefit payments will be made on the following dates in April:
- April 1: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries.
- April 3: Payments to those who have been collecting retirement benefits since before May 1997, and retirees who also collect SSI benefits.
- April 9: Benefits for those born between the 1st and 10th.
- April 16: Benefits for those born between the 11th and 20th.
- April 23: Benefits for those born between the 21st and 31st.
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