Social Security Walks Back Phone Verification Cuts

The Social Security Administration has postponed a plan to cut phone services for Americans applying for benefits, while offering an olive branch to the most vulnerable. The administration's initial announcement that people filing claims would need to verify their identity online or in person starting Monday drew an uproar from advocates, who said disabled and elderly people with limited mobility and computer skills would essentially be abandoned. On Wednesday, the administration said it would delay the requirement until April 14. After that date, individuals applying for Medicare, disability benefits, and supplemental security income will be exempted from proving their identity in person if they can't do so online, the agency said, per Axios.

"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," Social Security commissioner Leland Dudek says, per the Washington Post. Nancy LeaMond of the American Association of Retired Persons notes members had complained the change "would require hundreds of miles and hours of travel merely to fill out paperwork," per the Post. But "merely delaying the implementation of this change is not enough," she says in a statement, calling for public input to proposed changes and "a reasonable timeframe for compliance."

After April 14, individuals applying for retirement or survivor benefits or requesting direct deposit for their checks will still need to verify their identity online or in-person, except in "extreme dire-need situations, such as terminal cases or prisoner pre-release scenarios," the SSA said, per CBS News. Interestingly, the Post reports leaders were telling staff on Wednesday that the changes to the verification program were delayed in part because the online system wasn't ready yet. Dudek himself has said the agency is quickly instituting changes that usually take years to implement, per Axios, leading to chaos and confusion. In another change, a benefit recipient who receives an overpayment after Thursday will have 100% of future benefits withheld until reimbursement, up from 10%, USA Today reports. (More Social Security stories.)