Social Security will change a beneficiary’s direct deposit over the phone only after the caller gives a representative a one-time code generated at ssa.gov/PIN. The phone route opened April 28, 2025, as one of three ways to redirect a monthly payment, alongside a my Social Security account online and a visit to a local office. A March 2026 Federal Register notice now puts numbers on how many people use each path.

For anyone paid by direct deposit, the question is what to do when the bank or account has to change. Social Security says the easiest and most secure way is online with a personal my Social Security account. Callers must first get the code by signing in to, or creating, that account, then dial 1-800-772-1213 and give the code to the representative who answers.

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How does the phone route work?

Social Security’s page on proving identity, last updated April 28, 2025, lays out the order. Before calling, a person goes to ssa.gov/PIN and signs in or creates a my Social Security account to get the one-time code. The caller then phones 1-800-772-1213 and hands the code to the representative.

The agency says it tightened the process because bad actors can get past older knowledge-based questions, and that the new procedures are meant to protect current and future benefits. The extra proof applies to anyone changing direct deposit information on existing benefits, whatever type of benefit they receive.

What happens to people who cannot get a code?

Anyone unable to create a my Social Security account has to go to a local Social Security office. The agency says no appointment is needed for a visit that is only about direct deposit, and the office locator at secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main takes a ZIP code. The page also says a person can arrange direct deposit through a bank instead.

Some people never have to prove anything new. Social Security says there is no extra identity proof for continuing to receive benefits at the current bank. People who get paper checks and want a different mailing address must visit an office first. Once someone proves identity for a my Social Security account, online services stay open without another in-person visit.

The agency also warns that it will never contact anyone by text message to confirm identity information, so any such message should be ignored.

What does the notice say about people who drop out?

The Social Security Administration’s notice, published March 31, 2026 under docket SSA-2026-0331 and signed March 27 by General Counsel Mark Steffensen, covers the Security Authentication PIN process, known as SAP. Its annual burden table estimates 528,626 people a year will request phone-based direct deposit changes using SAP, at one response each and five minutes per response.

The same table lists 2,084,532 respondents who drop out of SAP and use an alternate method for changing direct deposit. That is roughly four times the phone count. Those respondents are put at nine minutes each, for 312,680 total annual hours and a $26,092,796 annual opportunity cost.

The notice says those other methods are already approved by the Office of Management and Budget, so no additional burden is counted for them. It also states that the enhanced identity verification procedures apply only to direct deposit changes, and that there is no actual charge to complete the online tool.

Why is the notice being published now?

The notice is labeled a revision of an approved information collection. It starts the full renewal of the SAP collection, which had received emergency approval, and asks for public comment on the burden estimate, the need for the information and ways to reduce the burden on respondents. Comments go to the Office of Management and Budget and to the SSA Reports Clearance Director at [email protected].

The open question for beneficiaries is practical rather than legal. Social Security has put a cost on the phone step, and its own estimate shows far more people leaving that route than finishing it. Anyone who needs a new bank on file still has the same three doors, listed on the agency’s website, and the code from ssa.gov/PIN is the only key to the phone.

Changing the bank Social Security pays into?

A direct deposit change decides where every future payment lands, and Social Security says bad actors can get past older identity questions. A mistake in the new steps, or a payment that goes astray after a change, is the kind of problem that costs a beneficiary days without income.

The Social Security Check Protection Kit lays out the 2026 payment calendar, so a late or misdirected deposit stands out against the date it was due. It also includes a first-24-hours plan for a late or missing payment, which covers the first calls to make when a deposit does not arrive after a bank change.

Get the 2026 payment calendar and the late-deposit plan in the Check Protection Kit →

More Financial Reading

• 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
• 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
• 15 Ways Retirees Are Tapping a Record $14.9 Trillion in Home Equity

This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.