"At the same time, the agency will expedite processing all direct deposit change requests " both in person and online " to one business day. Prior to this change, online direct deposit changes were held for 30 days.
#2 | Posted by gracieamazed

"SSA recently required nearly all agency employees, including frontline employees in all offices throughout the country, to work in the office five days a week. This change ensures maximum staffing is available to support the stronger in-person identity proofing requirement."
#3 | Posted by gracieamazed

One business day after you get an appointment if you need to go in person. Getting that appointment can already take a long time and even requiring employees to work in the office 5 days a week isn't going to compensate enough to deal with the influx of increased appointments the agency anticipates:

Because the SSA serves a large population that is either older or physically disabled, many cannot access the internet. Under the new system, this would force these populations to visit an office to have their claim processed. The Diaz memo estimates it would require 75,000 to 85,000 in-person visitors per week to SSA's offices to implement the policy.

SSA offices do not currently have the resources to handle an influx of in-person appointments of this size. In 2023, the most recent data available, there were about 119,128 daily visits, on average, to SSA offices. Eight-five thousand more week visits would be a 14% increase. SSA offices no longer accept walk-ins and the wait time for an appointment, even before these changes, averaged over a month.

The memo anticipates creating a huge surge in demand for in-person appointments as the SSA slashes staff and closes offices. Acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek has announced that he will terminate 7,000 workers, about 12% of the workforce. Meanwhile, dozens of SSA offices are being shuttered. Some people need to travel more than 100 miles to get to the nearest location. As the SSA limits services that could be provided over the phone, it is ending in-person services at some offices, converting them to phone-only.

An SSA source told Popular Information that there are "no significant concerns about fraud at intake" because no benefits are being distributed. And there are already multiple layers of identity verification in place before a claim is approved. The source said they believe the new ID verification steps are an effort to "create additional hurdles to filing claims and overwhelm the system."

The memo acknowledges that the policy changes would create increased "challenges for vulnerable populations." This seems to concede that many elderly and disabled people are physically unable to travel to an in-person office. It is unclear how these populations will be able to receive benefits at all.

The combination of fewer workers, fewer offices, and a massive increase in the demand for in-person services could sabotage the Social Security system " effectively denying many Americans the benefits they are due.

All of this is directly acknowledged in the Diaz memo. The memo predicts "service disruption," "operational strain," and "budget shortfalls." It also says preventing people who cannot use the internet or travel to an in-person office from receiving benefits could result in "legal challenges and congressional scrutiny."

The horror and hits keep coming.
Please STOP the madness, read the link. We need marches and protests!

The SSA is being significantly undermined. Please read beyond the Trump/Musk propaganda. Or don't. As for the rest of us, we are not content with being so smug and gullible:

Between the lines: "People have a lot of trouble with the identification process," says Jen Burdick, a lawyer who provides free legal services for Americans trying to get Social Security disability benefits.

A recent client tried to drop by an office last week and was told to make an appointment by phone. On the phone, they were put on hold for six hours on Monday, five hours on Tuesday and two blocks of time, each three hours, on Wednesday, she said.

These proposed changes are "a way they're trying to use red tape to literally block people from getting benefits," Burdick said.

Who receives SS?
Disabled and old people

Also dependents of a worker who dies, i.e., children under 18, and I think also the spouse of the deceased worker. These are called survivor benefits.

Suddenly claiming someone died a year and a half ago sounds kind of DOGE-Y to me, and I bet we are going to hear more and more stories like this:

90 year-old veteran wrongly declared dead struggles to restore Social Security benefits
March 19, 2025

Kind received a letter from his healthcare provider addressed to his estate, notifying him of his own death that supposedly occurred a year and a half ago in October of 2023.

"To the estate of Thomas Kind. We're sorry to hear about the recent loss of Thomas Kind. We want to share some information without placing any extra burden on you at this time," the letter read.

Kind's reaction: "What a bunch of crap."

For the past 10 days, Kind has been unable to resolve the situation despite multiple attempts to contact officials.

"You can't talk to anybody," Kind said. "You can't get through. You sit on the phone for an hour waiting and making requests for customer service. I'm just looking for whoever has some ideas to turn the benefits back on."

The situation is particularly challenging for Kind, who has limited mobility.

"It's tough to have to deal with something like this when I'm here living 24/7," he said. "I can't get out. I don't have a car anymore."

it's eugenics. Elon Musk is a Nazi.
#26 | Posted by Alexandrite

Obviously the elderly and disabled are NPCs who have outlived their usefulness and need to be killed off
by the only people that count, Musk and Trump.

This change was in the works for some time. I received notification last year.
Posted by visitor

Really? No one I know who is on SS received such a letter. Even if this plan was in the works since last year, it was not scheduled to be accompanied by firing 7000 SSA employees and closing multiple SSA offices across the country.

And why not check to make sure that person didn't die and their checks weren't being swindled by their care taker.
#57 | Posted by fishpaw

How is DOGE going to check? BTW, funeral homes notify the SSA when somebody dies:

How to report a death
Funeral homes generally tell us when someone dies. So, you don't typically need to report a death to us.

If a funeral home isn't involved or doesn't report the death for some reason, you should call us and provide the name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death for the person who died.

#61 *Funeral homes fill out Form SSA-721 and notify Social Security of someone's death.

Citizenship is not a requirement to pay or receive Social Security.
#64 | Posted by snoofy

It's a little more complicated than that:

"Most fundamental to protecting SOCIAL SECURITY is assuring that all who receive it are eligible by citizenship, and by their age and ID verified and quarters paid into the system. This needs nailed down."

Code of Federal Regulations

401.45. Verifying your identity.

(b) Manner of verifying identity "(1) Request in person. If you make a request to us in person, you must provide at least one piece of tangible identification such as a driver's license, passport, alien or voter registration card, or union card to verify your identity. If you do not have identification papers to verify your identity, you must certify in writing that you are the individual who you claim to be and that you understand that the knowing and willful request for or acquisition of a record pertaining to an individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.

(2) Request by telephone. If you make a request by telephone, you must verify your identity by providing identifying particulars which parallel the record to which notification or access is being sought. If we determine that the particulars provided by telephone are insufficient, you will be required to submit your request in writing or in person. We will not accept telephone requests where an individual is requesting notification of or access to sensitive records such as medical records.

(3) Electronic requests. If you make a request by computer or other electronic means, e.g., over the Internet, we require you to verify your identity by using identity confirmation procedures that are commensurate with the sensitivity of the information that you are requesting. If we cannot confirm your identity using our identity confirmation procedures, we will not process the electronic request. When you cannot verify your identity through our procedures, we will require you to submit your request in writing.

I was notified last year when I logged in to review my benefits. So this security change has been in the works for over a year.
#70 | Posted by visitor_

You were notified what last year when you were logged in?