Social Security Reverses Course on Phone Service Cuts—Here’s What You Need to Know
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has scrapped a controversial proposal to eliminate phone services for millions of Americans filing retirement and disability claims, following public scrutiny and a report from The Washington Post detailing the drastic changes under consideration.
The now-abandoned plan would have forced elderly and disabled individuals to rely solely on in-person visits or online services to access their benefits, a move that could have severely impacted the 73 million Americans who depend on Social Security.
However, SSA and White House officials confirmed that one element of the fraud-prevention initiative will still move forward: beneficiaries will no longer be able to change their direct deposit banking details over the phone.
“Approximately 40 percent of Social Security direct deposit fraud is associated with someone calling SSA to change direct deposit bank information,” the agency said in a statement Wednesday. “The current protocol of simply asking identifying questions by telephone is no longer enough to prevent fraud.”
According to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a team led by billionaire Elon Musk and tasked with reducing government waste, that change is expected to take effect by the end of the month.
Musk’s involvement in the Social Security crackdown follows his long-standing campaign against fraud, dating back to his fight against bots on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
DOGE’s initial fraud concerns centered on allegations that deceased individuals were still collecting benefits. However, SSA officials clarified that anomalies—such as people appearing to be over 150 years old in the system—were the result of outdated record-keeping, not active fraud.
Despite this explanation, Musk has continued to push the narrative that the agency is paying benefits to individuals who have lived for centuries, an unfounded claim he reiterated on Fox News earlier this week and Trump echoed during his recent address to Congress.
