Twitter, sorry, X posts from Social Security:
- Beginning on April 14, #SocialSecurity will perform an anti-fraud check on all claims filed over the telephone and flag claims that have fraud risk indicators.
- Individuals who are not flagged will be able to complete their claim without any in-person requirements.
- We will continue to conduct 100 percent ID proofing for all in-person claims. 4.5 million telephone claims a year and 70K may be flagged. Telephone remains a viable option to the public.
Can't wait for the fun to begin. Too bad Bisignano or whatever-the-hell his name is has a hold on his confirmation. Doubt Dudek has the cajones to last much longer.
ReplyDeleteEmail at 4:00 telling SSA staff to hold all training on ID proofing. Policies have not been released and the video training was confusing and a total of 17 minutes. FAQs released were even more confusing as the basic answer to the questions were "it will be addressed in the EM". Did I say the EM has not been released. Does anyone have a clue what they are doing???? The public is confused and the staff is confused.
ReplyDeleteAgency-wide email or only FO's and call centers?
DeleteIn answer to "Does anyone have a clue what they are doing?" - I suspect you are just asking a rhetorical question, but certainly someone making decisions must have known what would happen when CO and RO staff were undervalued, mistreated and sharp/experienced folks decided to leave the Agency (or more correctly, were forced out of their positions). How can policy changes be enacted accurately and efficiently without (1) sufficient numbers of qualified policy and operational staff who understand SSA processes and (2) sufficient time to vet and consider the broad impact of proposed changes? Answer - they can't. If you thought it was challenging to get clear information before, just wait....Penny wise and pound foolish, those DOGE kids and the current administration. And to realize this was self-inflicted - if you didn't believe already, it makes you understand they really are sabotaging the Agency from the inside....
DeleteThe cheerleading replies to that Twitter post are terrifying. Wonder if their tunes will change when their claims are flagged.
ReplyDeleteRussian and Moldovan social media bots typically don't make retirement claims.
DeleteSo does this mean the agency is yet again reversing course on the ID proofing requirement for retirement claims filed over the phone?
ReplyDeleteKathie Sherrill has been retired for about 10 years now and typically didn't think twice about whether she'd receive her Social Security payments on time.
ReplyDeleteFor the first time ever, the 74-year-old retiree went online in March on the very day that $2,800 was to hit her bank account through direct deposit. She suddenly felt compelled to make absolutely certain that her Social Security money was there when it was supposed to be.
Sherrill and other retirees are on edge. Big time. Call it Social Security insecurity.
"I have never really worried about it as much as I have this year," Sherrill said. The money, thankfully, was sitting in her account in March and she knew her checks and payments for her ongoing bills would not start bouncing.
Since early February, AARP has seen nearly double the calls to its customer care line at 888-687-2277 as more people began being troubled about Social Security, and it has shown no signs of abating, according to an AARP spokesperson.
The angst isn't about to go away, particularly if people continue to face even longer waits on the phones or see Social Security offices closing in their communities, thanks to some key changes being made now.
Customer service is on the chopping block, as the Social Security Administration reduces the number of employees, restricts what services can be handled by phone and shutters some local offices where people could talk to someone face-to-face.
On Wednesday, the Social Security Administration announced that it would initiate a two-week delay for implementing a highly criticized move to end phone services and require in-person visits for some services.
"In-person identity proofing for people unable to use their personal 'my Social Security' account for certain services will be effective April 14," according to the announcement.
But individuals applying for Medicare, disability and Supplemental Security Income who cannot use a personal "my Social Security" account can complete their claim entirely over the telephone without the need to come into an office, according to the March 26 announcement. That's good news for many.
I wonder why this doesn't apply to disability hearings don't by phone.
ReplyDelete@6:10. That's got to be incredibly frustrating for staff. Implementing new policies without proper advance planning, testing, and training is a failure of leadership and a disservice to the public.
ReplyDeleteThey finally agreed making everyone come in was a really bad idea. Teleclaims that fail the sniff test (similar to internet claims) will necessitate in-person id proofing. They will still be proofing in-person claims.
ReplyDelete