AARP SC Statement on Abrupt Social Security Changes

March 20, 2025- In response to the Social Security Administration's recent decision to require in-person identity verification, AARP South Carolina State Director Charmaine Fuller Cooper who represents the state’s 640,000 members said:

 “The Social Security Administration’s abrupt decision to require in-person identity verification will create unnecessary hurdles for older Americans. In South Carolina, some residents may travel well over an hour or more to reach the nearest SSA office. This policy will force even more people and in some cases their family caregivers to make these trips. This creates new barriers for those who rely on Social Security, especially older adults with mobility challenges or limited transportation options.

"To make matters worse, some older adults may travel to appointments and still not be seen. I visited the Columbia Social Security office this week and after undergoing the required security screening to enter the federal building, I made my way to the 11th floor to the waiting room. While there, I personally witnessed an 84-year-old beneficiary not have her needs addressed. She had recently loss her husband, no longer drove and had to arrange for someone to take her to her in-person appointment.

"Unfortunately, the 84 year old did not hear her number called in the packed waiting room. She was instructed to take another number and additionally told that the wait was two hours and that even when her new number was called that all she would be able to do is schedule a new appointment. The message that anyone waiting to see an agent without an appointment would not receive services and would only get scheduled to return for an appointment was also reinforced over the waiting room intercom. Others who sat waiting were further instructed to call the SSA toll-free number to make an appointment. The toll-free number had a minimum two hour wait time as well and when instructed to press one for an automated callback, the voice recording instructed callers to call back.

"Older adults are currently stuck in a phone maze to nowhere.”

###

Media Contact: Sheree Muse, smuse@aarp.org, 803.403.5071