Social Security is making it harder for seniors to do routine tasks by phone in latest anti-fraud effort [View all]

Source: CNN Politics

Updated Jul 29, 2025, 10:14 PM ET
PUBLISHED Jul 29, 2025, 6:42 PM ET


Senior citizens soon won’t be able to simply call the Social Security Administration to change their address or check the status of their benefit claim. Instead, they will have to first verify their identity online or go to a field office if they are unable to do so. 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, assuming OMB approves it. Advocacy groups, however, are raising concerns that many senior citizens and people with disabilities will not be able to complete the verification process, which includes the generation of a one-time PIN, 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.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/29/politics/social-security-extra-verification