Big changes at Social Security? Here’s what’s in store for California’s seniors
Big changes are coming that will affect how the public deals with Social Security.
Benefits won’t be cut, and virtually all California offices are likely to stay open. But there will be new policies that critics say will make getting personal service more difficult.
The Trump administration wants to reduce what it sees as excessive waste and fraud in the system, which provides benefits to 6.3 million Californians.
Trump insists he will not cut benefits.
“I’m not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Now, we’re going to get fraud out of there … and everybody wants us to get the fraud out,” he said earlier this month.
But there’s a lot the administration can do to change how Social Security works, and it’s begun to do it.
“The administration does have significant influence over the program through regulatory actions, budget allocations and policy decisions. These indirect actions could reduce the value or availability of benefits, even without requiring formal legislative changes,” said Shannon Benton executive director of the nonpartisan Senior Citizens League.
There’s concern about what’s driving administration officials’ views of the program.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the “All-In” podcast last week, ”Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their checks this month. My mother-in-law, who’s 94, wouldn’t call and complain.” She would figure “something got messed up, and she’ll get it next month.”
But, he said, “A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining,”
Rep. Ami Bera, D-Sacramento, was appalled. “Social Security is a lifeline for millions of seniors. For many, it is their only source of income,” he said on X. “Missing a payment could mean unpaid rent, skipped meals and financial hardship.”
What’s changing at Social Security?
Here’s a quick guide to where things stand:
▪ Verifying your identification.
If you want to make changes, or apply for new benefits, new policies could matter.
For as long as anyone can remember, people could verify their identity with a phone call to the agency.
Starting next Monday, that process will require either visiting a Social Security office or going online. That’s going to be a problem for a lot of people, said Max Richtman, president and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, a nonpartisan advocacy group.
The new policy will “force seniors and people with disabilities to navigate a needless technical hurdle in applying for their earned benefits,” he said.
The Social Security Administration sees the policy change as an important way to combat fraud.
“The updated measures will further safeguard Social Security records and benefits against fraudulent activity,” it said in a statement.
▪ Closing offices. One field office, in Carlsbad, is on the list of potential lease terminations in California, but dozens of offices nationwide are on the list of buildings the government has proposed selling.
Administration critics fear in-person service could get more difficult. A lot of people needing help are not technically skilled and may not even have computers or smart phones, Richtman said.
That means “they would have to call SSA via the already overburdened phone line to set up an appointment, and travel in person to an SSA field office at a time when the agency is closing field offices across the country and radically reducing staff.”
The agency told The Bee that most of the leases are for small, remote hearing sites that are either near another Social Security or other federal space.
“Since most hearings are held virtually, we no longer need as many in-person hearings locations. Social Security offices in which a small remote hearing site’s lease was terminated remain open to serve the public,” the agency said.
It said other lease terminations were often already scheduled to be closed or being consolidated into other locations.
Will employees be available?
▪ Employees in the office. Social Security officials said they are requiring almost all employees, “including front-line employees in all offices throughout the country, to work in the office five days a week.”
That “ensures maximum staffing is available to support the stronger in-person identity proofing requirement,” the agency told The Bee in a statement.
It said it would “continue to monitor and, if necessary, make adjustments, to ensure it pays the right person the right amount at the right time while at the same time safeguarding the benefits and programs it administers.”
▪ Overpayments. There are many reasons people are paid too much. They include not only fraud, but changes in marital status, work status and so on.
Social Security had been withholding 10% of any overpayment it spots, but starting this week, new overpayments will be subject to a 100% withholding rate on monthly benefit.
“The agency strives to pay the right person the right amount at the right time, and issues correct payments to most beneficiaries. When an overpayment does occur, the agency is required by law to seek repayment,” the agency said.
The withholding rate for current beneficiaries with an overpayment before Friday will stay the same, the agency said. If the 100% overpayment proves to be a financial burden, the agency advises beneficiares to contact them.
▪ Shutdown. Social Security is not shutting down.
Thursday, Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek triggered a firestorm when he threatened to do so.
After a federal judge temporarily stopped the Department of Government Efficiency, which is driving the federal cutbacks, from obtaining personal information from Social Security, Dudek told the Washington Post everything at the agency is personal data.
“Unless I get clarification, I’ll just start to shut it down. I don’t have much of a choice here,” he said.
Later he backed off, telling the newspaper, “The president is committed to keeping the Social Security offices open to serve the public.” Dudek said he was “out of line.”
DOGE is eager to reduce government spending, and beneficiaries could be impacted by budget cuts, the Senior League’s Benton warned.
A leaner budget “could lead to delays in processing claims, issuing benefits, or providing services, indirectly affecting the timely receipt of benefits. A slower process could lead to financial strain for beneficiaries, particularly those who rely on timely payments.,” she said.
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Big changes at Social Security? Here’s what’s in store for California’s seniors."
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