The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced that effective April 14th, some individuals who want to claim social security benefits or change their direct deposit account information will need to visit a local Social Security field office to prove their identity in person. According to SSA, stronger identity verification procedures are needed to prevent fraud. The new rule is already causing confusion, partly because of its hasty rollout. here are answers to some common questions, although these answers are subject to change as additional changes are made to create greater efficiency and costs savings to the federal government.
This new rule only affects people who don’t have or can’t use their personal My Social Security account. If you already have a My Social Security account, you can continue to file new benefit claims, set up direct deposit, or make direct deposit changes online. You will not need to visit an office.
You must visit an office to verify your identity if you do not have a My Social Security account and you are: 1. Applying for retirement, survivor, spousal, or dependent child benefits; 2. Changing direct deposit information for any type of benefit; 3. Receiving benefit payments by paper check and need to change your mailing address. You don’t need to visit an office to verify your identity if you are applying for Medicare, Social Security disability benefits, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. These are exempt from the new rule and you can complete the process by phone.
If you’re already receiving benefits and don’t need to change direct deposit information, you will not have to contact the SSA online or in person to verify your identity. There is also no need to visit an office to verify your identity if you are not yet receiving benefits. The SSA announced that requests for direct deposit changes will be processed within one business day. Prior to this, online direct deposit changes were held for 30 days.
You can create an account at any time on the SSA website, ssa.gov/myaccount. A My Social Security account is free and gives you online access to SSA tools and services. To start the sign-up process, you will be prompted to create an account with one of two credential services providers, Login.gov or ID.me. These services meet the U.S government’s identity proofing and authentication requirements and help the SSA securely verify your identity online, so you won’t need to prove your identity at an SSA office. You can also use your existing Login.gov or ID.me credentials if you have already signed up with one of these providers elsewhere.
If you’re unable or unwilling to create a My Social Security account, you can call the SSA and start a benefits claim. However, if you’re filing an application for retirement, survivor, spousal, or dependent child benefits, your request can’t be completed until your identity is verified in person. You may also start a direct deposit change by phone and then visit an office to complete the identity verification step.
In order to complete your transaction in one step, the SSA recommends scheduling an in-person appointment by calling the SSA at (800)772-1213. However, you may face delays. According to SSA data (through February) only 44% of benefits claim appointments are scheduled within 28 days, and the average time you’ll wait on hold to speak to a representative is one hour and 28 minutes. A call back feature is offered. These wait times are likely to get worse as the influx of calls increases and the SSA experiences staffing cuts.
