Rural residents of Alaska may struggle with accessing Social Security offices as new identity rules come into force in March.
Why It Matters
Starting March 31, Social Security benefit claimants will no longer have the option to verify their identity with the Social Security Administration (SSA) over the phone. The changes come as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on the direction of President Donald Trump, seeks to reduce fraud and waste across the federal government.
What to Know
The changes, announced by the SSA earlier this month, mean those who can’t properly verify their identity using the agency’s “my Social Security” online service must visit a field office in person to verify themselves. Identity proofing is required for benefit claims and to change direct deposit information.
Teresa Holt, Alaska director with the American Association of Retired People Alaska, said “the abrupt decision to require in-person identity verification will create unnecessary hurdles for older Americans.” According to the SSA, there were about 105,000 claimants aged at least 65 in Alaska as of December 2023.
A file photo of a Social Security card with cash. A file photo of a Social Security card with cash. GETTY
She told the Seattle Times that many of Alaska’s beneficiaries “will have no choice but to fly from their villages and communities to reach the nearest SSA office,” which she said would be a “huge barrier to accessing services,” particularly for “rural Alaskans and those with mobility challenges.”
“This is a huge barrier to accessing services, maybe even preventing them from getting the benefits they’ve earned,” Holt said.
There are three Social Security offices in Alaska, in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau, serving a total state population of approximately 733,000. According to America’s Health Rankings, 35.1 percent of its population live in remote areas.
North Dakota, which has a similar number of residents and 39.3 percent of its population living rurally, has by comparison five Social Security offices, and it is also considerably smaller by land area. States with larger populations and significant metropolitan hubs, like California and New York, have dozens of offices.
Melanie Bahnke, president of the Kawerak tribal government in Nome, said that residents of villages outside the Western Alaska hub of Nome will need to pay over $1,000 for two flights to travel to the Anchorage Social Security office, according to the Seattle Times. She said the SSA decision is “discriminating against people in rural America.”
In response to the comments, an SSA spokesperson told Newsweek it would “continue to monitor and, if necessary, make adjustments, to ensure it pays the right person the right amount at the right time while at the same time safeguarding the benefits and programs it administers.”
The SSA is aware of the impact the changes could have on its field offices. 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 to 85,000 people nationwide visiting field offices every week to have their information processed if they find themselves unable to do it online.
If the maximum estimation is true, that could mean an additional 4.4 million 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
A spokesperson for Alaska Republican Senator Dan Sullivan told the Seattle Times: “The senator does support rooting out fraud in Social Security where it exists, which only undermines a system that millions of Americans rely on, but does not support efforts that interrupt or block access to benefits rightfully due to Alaskan beneficiaries. He and his team will be reaching out to the Acting Commissioner before March 31 to impress upon him the importance of phone-based and virtual appointments in a state with hundreds of communities not connected by roads.”
The SSA said in a statement on March 18: “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.”
Max Richtman, the president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told Newsweek in a statement: “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
Changes to identity verification processes will begin on March 31.
