For has it really been 36 years, Marketplace has provided free, accessible information about the economy, with sometimes a sense of humor.

Right now during our March fundraiser, donate $20 or more and pick up a tote bag featuring a classic Marketplace ad from back in 1989.

Get a piece of our past while helping us plan for the future. Check out the tote bag

and make your gift right now at marketplace.org slash donate. Will signing up for Social Security

become like a charming trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles? I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles.

Changes to the way we sign up for Social Security will require many more people to show up in

person at field offices.

The new policy is intended to curb fraud, but will add friction to the process that could

lead to delays and denials.

Marketplace's Nancy Marshall-Genzor reports.

The Social Security Administration says starting March 31st, there will be additional identity

requirements for people applying for benefits or changing their direct deposit information

by phone. 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 Social Security field offices. Nancy Altman, president of the advocacy group

Social Security Works, says that could be difficult. People who are seniors, people with disabilities

often have mobility issues. They may live in rural areas far away from a field

office. For those who can travel, Altman says the new ID system will lead to as many as 85,000 more

in-person visitors per week to field offices that already have long wait times. Acting Commissioner

of Social Security Lee Dudec says the new ID policy is not intended

to hurt applicants and...

We'll monitor the situation closely, and if it is to the detriment of our citizens that we serve,

...