Changes to Social Security starting April 14: here’s what could affect you

The Social Security Adminstration (SSA), which distributes Social Security payments, as well as those for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), is making some changes as the agency comes under new leadership.

Leland Dudek currently serves as the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration and has assisted the White House by providing Elon Musk’s ‘department of government efficiency’ with sensitive agency information. When Dudek was placed under investigation for carrying out those actions, he was named by Presidnet Trump to serve, at least on an interim basis, as the agency’s leader.

Changes coming to SSA

Over the last month, the SSA has informed the public of changes that are being made in the name of efficiency or fraud prevention. However, critics have accused the government of making it more difficult for beneficiaries to receive support.

Earlier this month, WIRED reported that SSA officials were considering scrapping their communications portal located on the agency’s website and shifting all their messaging to X, the site owned by Elon Musk. The SSA has since rejected these reports, saying that the agency “will continue to communicate through any and all mediums.”

SSA phone services cut back in the name of fraud

However, one significant change did go into effect earlier this week that beneficiaries of SSA programs should be aware of. The agency confirmed that starting on April 14, they would “perform an anti-fraud check on all claims filed over the telephone and flag claims that have fraud risk indicators.”

So what should those who have been flagged do? Well, they will need to head to their nearest SSA office to prove their identity. Once the SSA has confirmed that identity matches the benefit holder, they will complete the task that the beneficiary called the SSA to carry out.

The agency receives close to 4.5 million calls a year and believes that around 70,000 could be flagged, with those individuals needing to make their way to the SSA offices for further assistance.

These new rules came into effect on the same day that the SSA stopped accepting applications for benefits, as well as changes to direct deposit information over the phone for all programs. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities calculated that for six million seniors, that means traveling an average of 45 miles. The SSA still allows applications to be submitted online, and through a person’s MySocialSecurity web portal, they can update their bank account information. Nevertheless, researchers warn that this option comes with a host of challenges for those who lack access to “internet service, computers or smartphones, or the technological savvy to navigate a multi-step, multi-factor online verification process.”

“Even as SSA is encouraging people to do business online, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is making changes to online identity authentication that are triggering system outages and access problems,” noted the CBPP in a recent report.

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