Social Security Rolling Out New Change in August, Says Policy Now Optional

The AARP estimated that roughly 3.4 million people would have been forced to go to a Social Security field office.

Blank Social Security checks are run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury printing facility in Philadelphia, Pa., on Feb. 11, 2005. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

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.”