The Social Security Administration (SSA) is not just numbers or accounts, many, millions of Americans depend on it to survive day to day, making it their only source of income.
For many, especially retirees, the check that arrives once a month is their only source of income; they practically rely on it to live.
But now, everything is about to change, and with Donald Trump’s return to the White House for his second term, everything is changing.
Now, a new identity verification rule has been proposed that could put those who are applying for these benefits for the first time in check… And if they don’t act quickly, they could even lose access to their essential payments.
70 million rely on the SSA
Currently, the Social Security Administration provides assistance to nearly 70 million citizens. This includes retirees, people with disabilities or incapacities, and families with very low income. The average benefit for a retirement payment recipient is around $2,000 per month, a figure that, in many cases, is the only income they have.
But, as we mentioned, the SSA doesn’t only offer payments to retirees, it also offers payments to those who, due to disability or incapacitation, are unable to work.
This payment is called SSI (Supplemental Security Income), and it’s also aimed at people living with scarce resources or without any other means of support. And, unlike retirement benefits, these payments can be cancelled if the recipient begins to receive consistent income from another payer.
What are the new rules?
March 18 was the date chosen by the Administration to outline the new rules, which basically state that each person applying for payments for the first time (whether due to disability or retirement) will have to verify their identity through a new program called Internet ID Proofing. If the applicant’s identity cannot be verified, documentation will need to be presented in person at the nearest SSA office.
Why is this being done?
For a very simple reason, they want to fight the false applications the system continuously receives, as suggested by Doris Diaz, the Acting Deputy Commissioner for Operations to the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Leland Dudek.
If this new procedure were implemented, as outlined in the proposal, up to 85,000 people would end up seeking assistance at local offices due to potential fraud.
The likelihood of implementing this new process could result in a surge of between 75,000 and 85,000 in-person visits to SSA offices… This, at a time when they are already operating with a reduced staff after the elimination of 7,000 jobs (announced by the new Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to cut public spending in every possible way…) is a large number.
Not just for the workers, who will likely have to work twice as hard and around the clock to assist so many people, but for those older users (the majority of SSA recipients), who will have to travel to reach the offices because, let’s remember, our elders don’t get along very well with new technology either.
What will happen to the SSA?
Beyond this new verification policy, the long-term outlook for SSA funds is not promising, especially not with DOGE’s proposals. If urgent structural measures are not taken, the retirement fund could run out in the early 2030s…
The most mentioned solutions so far have been increasing the taxes dedicated to Social Security or cutting current benefits, something that generates major controversy.
President Trump has stated several times that he does not plan to raise taxes or cut payments, although that leaves little room to save the fund without leaving users without their pensions, but how are they going to do it? We still don’t know.
