The Trump administration backed down this week from a change that would have made accessing Social Security benefits harder following backlash and confusion among recipients.

As part of a purported anti-fraud initiative, the Social Security Administration proposed in March that it would no longer allow most claims to be made over the phone, instead requiring applicants to visit agency offices to prove their identity.

That would have meant a 45-mile trip for roughly 6 million seniors nationwide, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and potentially a monthlong wait for an appointment, according to a 2024 inspector general report.

After public outcry, the agency backtracked on Wednesday, saying that all claim types can still be completed over the telephone and that only applicants flagged as potentially fraudulent would need to come in person, CNBC reported.

But if you call, it’s not necessarily going to go well. Amid staffing cuts, many seniors report hourslong hold times to get through to someone who can help them. Those who go in person may find long lines outside their local Social Security office. And those who file claims online may find a website that keeps crashing as Elon Musk’s DOGE team implements its changes.

At the same time, DOGE’s cuts to the Social Security Administration’s workforce have created panic among some benefit recipients, including those wrongly informed recently that their benefits had been canceled.

The cuts — which the agency said amount to a 12% reduction in its workforce — appear to be taking their toll on agency effectiveness. But as the last-minute rollback of the phone service cuts shows, public opinion on Social Security still holds a lot of sway.

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