Social Security is making it harder for seniors to do routine tasks by phone in latest anti-fraud effort
In its latest effort to thwart fraud, the agency is expanding its online authentication requirement for address changes, claim status requests, benefit verification letters and tax statements, according to a regulatory filing Social Security recently submitted to the Office of Management and Budget. The agency intends to implement the change by August 18.
Advocacy groups, however, are raising concerns that many senior citizens and people with disabilities will not be able to complete the verification process through their mySocialSecurity accounts. The agency said in the filing that it expects 3.4 million people will need to go to field offices annually to complete the tasks.
'For many older Americans, the phone is how they access Social Security services without having to rely on complicated technology or long, difficult, or costly trips to field offices,' Nancy LeaMond, AARP's chief advocacy and engagement officer, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano.
'We are concerned that under this new policy, older Americans, especially those in rural areas, will have to call, wait on hold for possibly hours, and then wait weeks for an appointment — and in some cases even take time off work — to complete simple transactions they have long been able to do over the phone,' she wrote, urging the commissioner to reconsider the measure.
It currently takes 35 days to get an appointment at a Social Security field office, according to the agency, which has been reducing staff amid a major reorganization.
The new policy is the agency's latest controversial attempt to combat fraud, spurred by the Trump administration. Prior efforts sparked widespread confusion among beneficiaries, who flocked to Social Security's 800 number or field offices, fearing they had to prove their identities in order to continue receiving their monthly payments.
Social Security had to walk back a measure instituted this spring to review retirement benefit applications for fraud after the process created a backlog and flagged only a tiny number of claims for additional verification.
But the agency retained an initiative that bars beneficiaries from changing their direct deposit information by telephone, requiring that they do so through their online accounts or at field offices. That policy is expected to send an additional 1.9 million people to field offices annually.
There is no documentation that requesting address changes and other routine tasks over the phone leads to fraud, said Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
'There's just no evidence that this is a problem,' said Romig, who worked for the agency during the Biden administration.
The new anti-fraud policies will increase field visits by 17%, requiring beneficiaries to spend 3 million hours driving to offices to complete their transactions, she estimated.
The latest effort also aligns with Bisignano's push to have more beneficiaries use the agency's online services to handle their requests. All the tasks that require added verification can be done through mySocialSecurity.
Social Security did not return a request for comment on the regulatory filing.
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Business Insider
30 minutes ago
- Business Insider
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Business Insider
32 minutes ago
- Business Insider
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Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Most Americans Were Never Interested in Meghan Markle Podcasting
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Meghan Markle's struggle to break through with her business podcast Confessions of a Female Founder may in part be explained by polling conducted at the time she first signed with Spotify. The Duchess of Sussex has now chalked up two podcasts: Archetypes, about sexist slurs, and Confessions of a Female Founder, which featured interviews about prominent women who run companies. The first made waves when she dished about the royal family in the early episodes but sunk in the charts in later shows when she steered clear of the palace soap opera. Meghan Markle listens to a broadcast through headphones during a visit to Reprezent 107.3FM community radio station in Brixton, south west London, on January 9, 2018. Meghan Markle listens to a broadcast through headphones during a visit to Reprezent 107.3FM community radio station in Brixton, south west London, on January 9, 2018. DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP via Getty Images The second had nothing do with the monarchy and struggled to make an impact beyond the first episode. That may in reality be no surprise as polling as far back as 2020 suggests Americans may simply never have been particularly interested in Prince Harry and Meghan podcasting. Why It Matters Meghan launched a flurry of new projects in 2025 but had a rough ride among critics for both her Netflix cooking show and Confessions, which were both tied to her own business As Ever, which launched in April. Now the first phase of those ventures is over, she will have a chance to take stock and consider what is working well and what could do with a revamp. What to Know Polling agency YouGov asked 5,400 U.S. adults in December 2020 how much interest they would have in listening to Harry and Meghan's podcasts. Just 8 percent said they were "very interested" while 53 percent said they were "not at all interested." And 16 percent were "not very interested" while 15 percent were "somewhat interested." This adds up to a total of 69 percent falling on the side of disinterest compared to 23 percent who expressed interest. At the time, they had just signed their Spotify deal but no specific shows had been publicly revealed and in the end it would be a year-and-a-half before Archetypes dropped. It was, though, also a time when they had not been giving interviews and therefore media appetite to hear what they had to say was far higher than now. The Oprah Winfrey interview, for example, was still months away and was not even known about in December 2020. In that respect, Harry and Meghan's reputations in America were still mostly uncontroversial bar a run-in with Donald Trump after they commented on the presidential election he lost to Joe Biden. Some might, therefore, by tempted to conclude that Meghan should not take the lukewarm response to her podcast to heart and simply focus on other more successful projects. What Happens Next Meghan's As Ever online shop has sold out all three of its product runs in mere minutes but more produce is expected to drop this summer, specifically a sparkling wine. Season 2 of her Netflix show With Love, Meghan is also due out in the fall, while the Netflix deal itself is due to run out in September. As yet, a new deal has not been signed and The Sun and People both reported Netflix does not intend to renew it. Time will tell whether some continuation of the partnership gets renegotiated or not. Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page. Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@ We'd love to hear from you.
