The Social Security Administration is responsible for delivering benefits to more than 70 million people every month. Their job is important, as some of the beneficiaries are some of the most vulnerable people in society, like the elderly, orphans or the disabled, but this can mean that sometimes verification protocols can fall by the wayside. This is obviously not a good thing and the Administration is doing everything they can to root out fraud and ensure that all benefits are going where they should and when they should, and that is why they have made some updates that could cause you to, at least temporarily, lose your benefits.
The requirements have always been there, after all, claiming benefits has never been as easy as just walking into a Social Security office and demanding them, but the information that has been provided until now has not been as thorough and in many cases it has not been updates for years, meaning that many people could be receiving more (or less!) benefits than what they are entitled to.
Now, these requirements have been revised and there is a new push towards enforcement, which means that anyone that has dealings with the Social Security Administration should get ready to report any of the relevant information.
The new requirements to receive Social Security benefits in 2025
As we have said, most of them have been in place for years, but now the difference is that verification is happening at a much larger scale. The first thing that you will need to make sure to communicate to the Social Security Administration is the death of a beneficiary. This is important whether or not you are receiving benefits based on their records, as any payment that hits their account after their passing will need to be returned, and if you have spent it or if you have profited in any way from their death, that could be considered fraud and you could be in big legal trouble.
The second thing you should never fail to report, is a change on marital status or any other relevant family situation, like taking in dependents. Some benefits are extended to family members and are increased or reduced depending on the particulars of your situation, so you could be missing out on some bigger payments by not reporting it. Plus, again, if you are getting overpaid you will have to return the money, however, the opposite is not true, and you will only get the increased payments from the day you report the change.
Any additional income that you receive should also be reported to the Social Security Administration. This may not be as important if you are receiving retirement benefits, but if you are receiving Supplemental Security Income or any other income based benefit, you could be in serious trouble if the Administration finds that you have been double dipping in the system. This additional income could be because of work, an inheritance or another pension that you now qualify for.
If you plan on leaving the country for more than 30 days, you should also report it to the Administration, as some benefits like Supplemental Security Income are dependent on residency and not available for those who live abroad. If there are extenuating circumstances you might be able to keep your payments, but that will depend on the reason why you are leaving. It is more than likely that you will have to reapply for benefits once you get back from your trip.
And last, but by no means least, the fastest way to lose your benefits is to fail to appear in an in-person verification request. If you are sent a summon to appear in one of the Social Security offices to verify your identity or present extra documents, please attend the meeting or reschedule it at your convenience, but failure to appear will likely trigger an immediate suspension of benefits pending verification.