The Social Security Administration announced Tuesday it is eliminating the ability of people to file for claims by phone, forcing Alaskans to file either in person at a field office — which only exist in Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks — or online, which could prove particularly problematic for remote areas with limited connectivity.
Social Security Administration officials state the change is to mitigate “fraud risks.” The action comes as Elon Musk, who has made false claims about Social Security fraud, has stated his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to cut thousands of jobs and close dozens of field offices.
“Knowledge-based authentication is dead,” acting commissioner Leland Dudek told reporters in a conference call, referring to phone verification by employees of callers’ identities, the Washington Post reported. “These changes are not intended to hurt our customers, but to make sure benefits go to the right customer at the right time.”
Dudek said he “made a commitment to the White House and Congress that we will monitor the situation closely, and if (the change) is to the detriment of the citizens we serve, we will take actions” to adjust, according to the Post. The new policy is scheduled to take effect March 31 to allow for training of Social Security employees.
Inquiries sent early Wednesday morning by the Juneau Empire to spokespeople for all three members of Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation — asking if the lawmakers support the policy and if not what actions they might pursue — did not receive an immediate response.
A March 13 memo proposing the change by Acting Deputy SSA Commissioner Doris Diaz states the intent is to mitigate “fraud risks.”
People applying for benefits would be required to authenticate their identity through online “ID proofing” rather than by phone, according to Diaz.
“For instances where a customer is unable to utilize the internet ID proofing, customers will be required to visit a field office to provide in-person identifying documentation,” she wrote.
About 60,000 Alaskans don’t have access to broadband, geographically representing a “majority of small communities” in the state, according to the Alaska Broadband Office at the State Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Most such communities aren’t connected by road to Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau — and residents in some other towns that are would be several hundred miles away from those offices.
Diaz acknowledges several risks and challenges in the proposal, including “disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, risking legal challenges and congressional scrutiny.” Other concerns include service disruption due to increased customer traffic and delayed processing, operational strain due to higher demands on staff, and increased costs for identity proofing services.
The intended benefits, she wrote, are “reduced fraud risk, fewer improper payments.”
The memo’s existence was first reported Monday by the newsletter Popular Information.
”About 40% of all claims are currently processed over the phone,” the newsletter notes. “Because the SSA serves a large population that is either older or physically disabled, many cannot access the internet. Under the new system, this would force these populations to visit an office to have their claim processed.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a email Monday to Axios, stated “any American receiving Social Security benefits will continue to receive them.”
“The sole mission of DOGE is to identify waste, fraud, and abuse only,” she wrote.
Musk has declared Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” and suggested tens of millions of dead Americans up to three centuries old as well as vast numbers of illegal immigrants are receiving benefits. A 2024 report by the Officer of the Inspector General found less than 1% of payments between fiscal 2015 and 2022 were improper, most involving overpayments to living people.
This story has been updated with new information about the Social Security Administration’s policy plans.