DOGE and the Social Security Administration: Reporting From the Front Lines (3), Identity Proofing

So no, this is not an ELE asteroid, or a supervolcano, or a category 9 earthquake, or a tsunamai, or a tornado superoutbreak, or a landfalling Category 5 hurricane. It is akin to a Category 3 hurricane meandering in the Gulf of Mexico, inevitably resulting in mass disruption to the lives of millions. See this Press Release and the accompanying FAQ for details. The changes take effect April 14th. In a nutshell:

• You DO NOT need to visit us in person to verify your identity if you are already receiving benefits. The misreporting of this has cost us dearly over the past couple weeks.
• You will be able to make changes to your Direct Deposit via a mySSA account, or direct auto-enrollment at you bank. If neither option is available to you, you will need to visit us in person.
• You will not need to visit us in person to initiate a claim for Social Security Disability or Supplemental Security Income.
• Unless you initiated it through mySSA, you WILL need to visit us in person for a claim for Retirement, Survivors, or Auxiliary benefits. The current guidance is that the aim is for the default for these types of claims to become in office appointments. There does appear to be room for some phone appointments continuing, to be followed by in-office identity verification.

As before, I am happy to answer questions.