Social Security Drops 3-Day Hold on Benefit Claims by Phone

Video: AARP CEO on Social Security’s 90-Year Legacy Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

A month after introducing new protocols intended to flag fraud risks on benefit applications made by phone, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has dropped a key element of the program

that required a three-day hold on such claims before processing could begin.

An SSA official said the updated policy took effect May 17.

“We have not discontinued fraud checks on telephone claims,” the official said. “We refined the criteria and continue to screen all telephone claims for fraud. As part of the refined

criteria, we no longer require a three-day hold on telephone claims. We expect that this refined approach will allow us to better identify fraud while improving claims processing times.”

The move comes amid a sharp rise in pending applications for retirement benefits, survivor benefits and Medicare (for which the SSA handles enrollment). SSA data shows that nearly 600,000

such claims were outstanding at the end of April, a 72 percent increase since September 2024.

AARP is your fierce defender on issues that matter to people 50-plus, including Social Security. Read more about how we fight for you every day in Congress and across the country.

The agency restricted hiring in the fall of 2024 amid a congressional budget standoff and announced plans in February to shed 7,000 jobs, a 12-percent reduction in staff. In late April, the

SSA said more than 3,000 workers had taken buyouts or early retirement.

The three-day holds were a factor in the growing backlog, “but not the sole factor,” says Bill Price, president of Local 3571 of the American Federation of Government Employees, the union

that represents frontline Social Security workers. “The biggest factor is, we don’t have the employees.”

The move marks the latest in a series of changes the SSA has announced, and subsequently scaled back, to curb what it says is widespread fraud by scammers using illicitly obtained Social

Security numbers to access benefits.

The SSA rolled out new phone checks last month after abandoning a plan that would have effectively eliminated the option to claim benefits by phone. That proposal, announced in March, would

have required people calling the agency to apply for benefits or report a change in banking information to verify their identity online or at a Social Security office.

Amid fierce pushback from advocates for older Americans and people with disabilities — including AARP, which was flooded with calls from members confused by and concerned about the proposed

changes — the SSA dropped the requirement that you could only verify your identity online or in person.