The Social Security Administration (SSA) clarified on Aug. 1 that a new policy that would have mandated some seniors and others to visit local field offices for routine updates is now optional.
In a post on the SSA website, the agency said that it will be debuting a Security Authentication PIN for account-holders starting in the middle of August, noting that it is “designed to make the identity verification process faster and more secure when calling the National 800 Number to handle your Social Security business.”
Last week, the AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, sent a letter to the SSA’s commissioner and said the change would create a barrier for some retired Americans, individuals with disabilities, and some people who lack a computer or the internet. It estimated that roughly 3.4 million more people would have been forced to go to an SSA field office….