Changes to the application process for Social Security benefits will force more people to make in-person appointments at already crowded field offices. The new policy, announced Tuesday, is intended to limit fraud.

The Social Security Administration says that there will be additional identity requirements for people applying for benefits or changing their direct deposit information by phone starting March 31. They’ll have to use what the agency calls Internet ID proofing.  

If applicants don’t have access to the internet, they’ll have to make in-person appointments at field offices. That could be difficult, per Nancy Altman, president of the advocacy group Social Security Works.

“People who are seniors, people with disabilities often have mobility issues. They may live in rural areas far away from a field office,” she pointed out.

For those who can travel, Altman said the new ID system will lead to as many as 85,000 additional in-person visitors per week to field offices that already have long wait times. Acting Commissioner of Social Security Lee Dudek said the new ID policy is not intended to hurt applicants.

“We’ll monitor the situation closely, and if it is to the detriment of the citizens that we serve, then we’re going to take necessary actions to improve those services,” he said.

As for fraud? An inspector general report last year says Social Security estimates it did make almost $72 billion in improper payments from fiscal years 2015 through 2022. But that’s less than 1% of all Social Security benefit payments during that time.