SSA said it removed strict ID requirements on its phone line, but internal policy says otherwise

Late last month, the Social Security Administration said that it had removed requirements for more stringent identity checks on its phone lines. But internal policies viewed by Nextgov/FCW still instruct agency employees to obtain those verifications for direct deposit changes made over the phone. 

Callers have to log into an online SSA account, obtain a pin number and give it to the SSA agent over the phone to prove their identity. Creating that account involves its own identity checks powered by facial recognition. 

Without the pin or a limited exception to the requirement, callers have to go into a field office with documentation to make the change, or they can do it online in that same account that provides pin numbers.

SSA has said that the checks are necessary due to fraud risks, but critics have warned that they could be difficult for people with limited tech know-how, those who live far from SSA field offices and those with limited mobility or transportation.

Late last month, SSA walked back a planned expansion of these ID checks to four additional tasks on its phone line after receiving pushback. The agency had estimated that the requirements would send millions of people into field offices for help.

In an updated regulatory filing late last month, SSA said that the policy demanding that callers wishing to change their direct deposit information furnish a PIN had already been removed.

But the agency’s current internal policies, effective in mid June and viewed by Nextgov/FCW, instruct employees to ask callers wanting to change their direct deposit information for the pin number, with limited exceptions. Those not able to clear those checks over the phone or complete the transaction online are supposed to go to a field office to prove their identity in-person.

The discrepancy comes as the agency has changed and reversed different schemes for its phone lines several times since March, when it debuted a plan to do away with taking claims or changing direct deposit information over the phone at all. SSA changed the policy after pushback.

“They change their mind daily,” said Jessica LaPointe, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 220, which represents field office staff. 

And the lack of timely communication with agency employees and the union “causes reckless chaos to the workers and the public we serve, especially vulnerable Americans,” she said. 

SSA wrote in its July 31 regulatory filing — which rolled back the planned expansion — that it had “removed both obligation to use [Security Authentication Pin] and the requirement for anyone to visit a field office if SAP did not work.”

SSA employees can use the agency’s previous methods for identity checks — knowledge-based verification — for identifying callers that fail the pin requirement multiple times, the updated regulatory filing says. 

SSA’s internal policies don’t reference that option for people wanting to enroll in, change or cancel direct deposit or Direct Express, a prepaid debit card used to deliver federal benefits. 

The policies do outline exceptions, such as if a person lives too far from a field office. The ID checks also don't apply to certain representative payees, like organizations. People can also go through automated enrollment to set up direct deposit with their bank, it says. 

The internal policy says that many, but not all, beneficiaries can make direct deposit changes online, although that online account is the same one required to get the pin to receive help over the phone, so it may not be a helpful option for anyone that struggles to furnish the pin over the phone. 

The agency policy also says that SSA employees can get identity information over a video, although that option is rarely used, an employee told Nextgov/FCW. 

The latest regulatory filing also says that the pin, which the agency says is optional, is integrated into the agency’s automated system, which had not been previously reported.

Callers can give the automated system the code and verify themselves, or opt to speak with an SSA employee, the filing says. They can also opt to use the knowledge-based verification method from the start. 

A spokesperson told Nextgov/FCW in late July that the pin feature can save callers three minutes, and that those who don’t want to use it can use existing authentication methods. 

SSA did not respond to multiple requests for comment for clarification on the changes.