In March, the Social Security Administration, at the behest of the Trump administration, announced sweeping changes that would have made it much more difficult to apply for disability benefits.
Thankfully, after a groundswell of opposition from disability attorneys and advocates for the disabled, the SSA has largely backed off of these changes, though some are still going into effect, and there is still the risk that these policies could be enacted down the line.
The biggest change we were going to see was in how applications are verified. Currently, and for many years, this has largely been done over the phone, with claimants answering a few questions to verify their identity.
But under the changes that were proposed, any individual seeking disability benefits was going to have to go in-person to a Social Security office by appointment, or go through a convoluted online process that required multifactor authentication.
While framed as fraud prevention, these requirements would have been especially troubling given that the SSA is cutting its workforce and closing some offices, making it much more difficult for clients to do this in-person, if they even have access to transportation.
On top of that, many disability claimants struggle with cognitive issues that would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible for them to navigate an online verification process.
For now, the new requirements will only apply to those applying for Social Security retirement benefits for the first time, or those who are already on disability or retirement benefits and looking to change their account information.
