One top official in the Social Security Administration (SSA) just acknowledged in a memo that President Donald Trump's plans for one of its offices could make it harder for some people to receive their benefits.

According to Judd Legum's Popular information newsletter, the memo by acting SSA deputy commissioner Doris Diaz details how additional efforts to curb fraudulent payments could impact elderly people who are lacking in digital literacy. Diaz explained that the agency's new "internet identity proofing" for claims made "over the phone" are likely to create significant roadblocks for beneficiaries.

Under the new internet identity proofing process, beneficiaries making claims over the phone (which Popular Information estimates make up 40 percent of all Social Security claims) would be asked to verify their identity online. But because many beneficiaries are elderly and don't have internet access, this would require beneficiaries to visit a Social Security office in-person in order to verify their identity.

In one section of the memo, Diaz predicted this influx of in-person visits would cause "service disruption," "operational strain" and "budget shortfalls." She estimated that the number of in-person visitors to Social Security offices would number between 75,000 to 80,000 per week. This is on top of the administration already slashing jobs at the agency, making it more difficult for the employees who are left to process claims in a timely manner.

"SSA offices do not currently have the resources to handle an influx of in-person appointments of this size. In 2023, the most recent data available, there were about 119,128 daily visits, on average, to SSA offices," Legum wrote. "Eight-five thousand more week visits would be a 14% increase. SSA offices no longer accept walk-ins and the wait time for an appointment, even before these changes, averaged over a month."

South African centibillionaire Elon Musk has been unofficially leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has been making sweeping cuts to multiple federal agencies with Trump's blessing. Musk has repeatedly called for cutting Social Security to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, falsely asserting that he's only cutting fraudulent payments. In reality, fraudulent payments only account for approximately $9 billion, which is less than 1% of money paid out, and is almost always in the form of overpayments to legal beneficiaries.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet