The Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced it’s changing the way recipients sign official documents.
More than 30 forms will no longer require a physical signature and another 13 will have signing requirements removed, the SSA announced on Thursday, September 5. Electronic signatures will be required instead for forms that still require signing.
The SSA has said the changes impact 90 percent of the most commonly used forms by SSA customers at its local field offices, and these forms represent about 14 million signed forms submitted every year. Social Security benefits, including retirement and disability payments, are issued to 70 million Americans every year.
Among others, signature requirements have been removed altogether for the following forms:
- Medical Source Opinion of Patient’s Capability to Manage Benefits (Form SSA-787)
- Letter to Employer Requesting Wage Information (Form SSA-L420)
- Request for Reconsideration/Disability Cessation Right to Appear (Form SSA-789)
Newsweek has contacted the SSA via email outside of normal working hours for the full list of forms for which signing requirements have changed.
A file photo of a person holding a Social Security card. Changes are being made to signature requirements for numerous forms.
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The SSA said the change will ease burdens on millions of customers and will “simplify application processes for people, including removing a potential reason for claims to be sent back or denied.”
“Social Security works to pay the right people at the right time in the correct amount,” the September 5 release says. “These efforts ensure we maintain strong anti-fraud protections while removing onerous requirements that are not serving their intended purposes.”
“Across forms that Americans use most often, we’re eliminating as many pain points as possible, from helping people sign at the click of a button to reducing the need to drive or mail something in whenever possible,” Martin O’Malley, commissioner of Social Security, said in the statement. “This means faster and more error-free processing and better service for our customers, who deserve a government that meets their needs efficiently and effectively.”
Removing the physical signature requirement is also being considered for other undisclosed forms that would “ease requirements on about 1 million additional transactions.”
The government agency has made numerous changes to certain processes and requirements for beneficiaries this year. In August, the SSA announced a major update to its Supplemental Security Income (SSI) application process, which is due to go live in December.
“We’ve seen more government-funded benefit programs make the leap into more simplified software in recent years, and the move is highly needed,” Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.
“Americans have grown accustomed to virtually every other form online being as straightforward and uncomplicated as possible, and some programs like SSI not adapting sooner could result in fewer applicants being able to navigate through the process and receive those highly needed benefits.”