Social Security Customers Forced To File In Person. DOGE Is Closing Offices

New changes announced by the Social Security Administration (SSA) mean that individuals wanting to claim benefits who cannot prove their identity online will need to apply in person.

Starting March 31, benefit claimants will no longer have the option to verify their identity with the SSA over the phone.

Newsweek has contacted the SSA via email for comment.

Why It Matters

The change comes at a time when numerous Social Security offices have either been shut or are scheduled to close due to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts.

DOGE has listed 47 SSA field offices set for closure across the country, many of which are concentrated in the southeast and southern U.S. The SSA has around 1,230 field offices across the U.S. in total.

According to a report by The Associated Press, an agency spokesperson said earlier in March that most of the leases not being renewed are for spaces used for in-person hearings, which are no longer necessary due to the majority of them now being held online.

What To Know

Announcing the changes on Tuesday, the SSA said in a statement: "Over the next two weeks, SSA will carefully transition to stronger identity proofing procedures for both benefit claims and direct deposit changes.

"Individuals seeking these services who cannot use their personal 'my Social Security' account, which requires online identity proofing, will then need to visit a local Social Security office to prove their identity in person."

Meanwhile, a leaked internal memo from the SSA, obtained by the Substack Popular Information, revealed that the agency could face longer processing times due to an additional 75,000-85,000 people visiting field offices every week to have their information processed if they cannot do it online.

If the maximum estimation is true, that would mean an additional 4,420,000 visits to SSA offices every year.

According to SSA data, the percentage of benefit claim appointments scheduled within 28 days in February 2025 was 44.9 percent.

The SSA said in its statement that all frontline staff had been brought back into the office five days a week, which would ensure "maximum staffing is available to support the stronger in-person identity proofing requirement."

What People Are Saying

Lee Dudek, the acting commissioner of the SSA, said in a statement on March 18: "Americans deserve to have their Social Security records protected with the utmost integrity and vigilance. For far too long, the agency has used antiquated methods for proving identity. Social Security can better protect Americans while expediting service."

Representative John B. Larson, a Democrat from Connecticut, said on Monday: "Their memo confirms they are out to gut Social Security to pay for $2 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent. By requiring seniors and disabled Americans to enroll online or in person at the same field offices they are trying to close, rather than over the phone, Trump and Musk are trying to create chaos and inefficiencies at SSA so they can privatize the system."

Max Richtman, the president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told Newsweek in a statement on Tuesday: "Intentionally constructing obstacles for the people who've earned these benefits (and who pay for SSA operations with every paycheck) betrays at the least an indifference—and more likely, an outright hostility—to the elderly, people with disabilities, their families and survivors who rely on Social Security."

What's Next

The agency has initiated a two-week transition period to train employees and oversee policy compliance ahead of the March 31 deadline.