After reading through all the comments, I want to clarify the most important points: 1. SSA's "failure to follow prescribed treatment" rule rarely applies to complementary therapies like pain management 2. This rule is most commonly applied in cases like refusing surgery that would clearly restore function, refusing medication for controllable conditions like seizures or diabetes, or refusing psychiatric treatment for severe mental illness 3. For degenerative disc disease, which is generally progressive and permanent, they're mainly checking if the condition still meets disability criteria during reviews 4. Maintaining regular medical care to document ongoing disability is much more important than doing every recommended therapy 5. If asked about declined therapy during a review, having a reasoned explanation is helpful Hope this helps put your mind at ease about your brother's situation.

I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share what I learned when I had a similar concern about my own SSDI case. I called my local SSA office directly and spoke with a disability specialist who explained that for SSDI recipients, the focus during reviews is on whether your medical condition still prevents you from working, not on compliance with every treatment recommendation. They specifically mentioned that refusing therapies that manage symptoms (rather than cure the underlying condition) typically won't affect benefits. The key is maintaining regular medical documentation of your ongoing disability. Your brother should keep seeing his primary doctors and specialists, but declining pain management therapy alone shouldn't jeopardize his SSDI. If he's still concerned, documenting his reasons for declining (like previous unsuccessful attempts at similar therapy) would be wise for his medical file.

Just wanted to add some clarity for anyone else reading this thread - the confusion between SSDI and SSI is incredibly common and understandable since both are administered by SSA. Here's a quick way to remember the difference: SSDI = Social Security **Disability Insurance** - You earned this through working and paying Social Security taxes. NO asset limits because it's insurance you paid for. SSI = **Supplemental** Security Income - This is welfare for disabled people with very limited resources. Strict $2,000/$3,000 asset limits because it's needs-based. @Dominique Adams - Your $12,000 inheritance is absolutely fine with SSDI. The only thing that could affect your SSDI is if you return to work and earn more than $1,550/month consistently. Bank balances, inheritances, gifts, lottery winnings - none of that matters for SSDI recipients. Also, while SSA doesn't routinely monitor SSDI recipients' bank accounts, they do have access to financial databases if they need to investigate fraud or conduct reviews. But having money in the bank isn't fraud when you're on SSDI - it's perfectly allowed!

I want to add something important that might help others in similar situations - if you're ever unsure about your specific type of benefits, you can check your my Social Security account online at ssa.gov. It will clearly show whether you're receiving SSDI or SSI (or both in some cases). Also, for anyone who might be receiving both types of benefits, the inheritance would only affect the SSI portion, not the SSDI portion. The SSI part has those strict resource limits we've been discussing, but your SSDI would continue unaffected regardless of your assets. @Dominique Adams - I'm so glad you got the clarity you needed! It's totally understandable to be confused about these rules, especially when they can have such serious consequences if you get them wrong. The peace of mind is worth its weight in gold when you're dealing with a disability.

Hi everyone! As a newcomer to this community, I just encountered this exact same ID.me verification situation about 2 days ago and wanted to share my experience. Like so many others here, I was initially very alarmed when ID.me suddenly requested my driver's license photo and selfie after using the same login process for about 5 months without any issues. This thread has been absolutely invaluable in helping me understand what was happening! I followed the same thorough verification approach that multiple community members have recommended: I went directly to SSA.gov by typing the URL myself, found their official security documentation about the ID.me partnership, and called the SSA customer service line at 1-800-772-1213. The representative was very patient and confirmed that this enhanced verification is their official security protocol being rolled out in phases to combat increased fraud attempts. I completed the verification process yesterday morning and it took about 8 minutes total. The lighting and steady phone tips from Kevin and others were spot-on - I positioned myself near a window with good natural light, which made the selfie portion work smoothly on the first attempt. Everything has been working normally since then. What I find most reassuring about this discussion is seeing how many people independently took the time to verify this through official government channels and consistently had positive experiences. It really demonstrates the value of having community spaces where we can help each other distinguish between legitimate security upgrades and potential scams. As someone who was genuinely worried this might be a sophisticated phishing attempt, I'm so grateful for everyone who shared their detailed verification steps and practical advice - it gave me the confidence to proceed safely. Thanks to this amazing community for creating such a helpful resource for navigating these unexpected security changes!

Hi everyone! As a newcomer to this community, I just went through this exact same ID.me verification experience yesterday and wanted to share what happened. Like so many others here, I was initially very suspicious when ID.me suddenly requested my driver's license photo and selfie after using the same login process for about 4 months without any changes. Reading through this entire thread has been incredibly helpful and reassuring! I followed the same careful verification steps that multiple community members have outlined: I navigated directly to SSA.gov by typing the URL myself (never clicking links when security is a concern), found their official security page explaining the ID.me partnership, and called the SSA customer service line at 1-800-772-1213 to get direct confirmation. The representative I spoke with was very understanding about people's security concerns and confirmed that this enhanced verification is indeed their official new security protocol. She explained that they're implementing it gradually across all existing accounts, which is exactly why so many long-time users are suddenly encountering these requirements after months of routine access. I completed the verification process this morning and it took about 6 minutes total. The lighting tips from Kevin and others were extremely helpful - I made sure I was positioned near a window with good natural light and held my phone steady, which made the selfie portion work perfectly on the first try. Everything has been functioning normally since then. What I find most valuable about this discussion is how many people independently verified this through official channels and had consistently positive experiences. It really helps distinguish legitimate security upgrades from potential scams. As someone who was initially quite worried this might be a sophisticated phishing attempt, I'm grateful for this community resource that provided the confidence and practical guidance I needed to navigate this unexpected change safely. Thanks to everyone who shared their detailed verification steps and experiences - this thread has become such an invaluable resource!

Thank you all for the helpful information! I called Vanguard this morning and they confirmed I can definitely have my Social Security deposited directly to my brokerage account. They gave me the correct ACH routing number to use (which is different from their wire transfer number). They also mentioned that the money will initially go into the settlement fund (which is basically like a money market account) and then I can set up automatic investments from there if I want to. I'm going to start with just having it deposited there, and then after a few months if everything is working smoothly, I'll set up the automatic investments. Thanks again to everyone for your advice!

That's great news that you got it sorted out with Vanguard! For anyone else considering this, I'd recommend double-checking a few things before making the switch: 1) Make sure you have enough cash reserves in a traditional bank account to cover a few months of expenses, just in case there are any hiccups with the new direct deposit setup 2) Consider starting the process a month or two before you actually need the payments to begin, so you have time to fix any issues 3) Keep your old bank account open for at least 6 months after switching, in case SSA needs to reverse any payments or make corrections I've seen people get into tight spots when they closed their old accounts too quickly and then had payment processing issues. Better to be overly cautious with something as important as your Social Security income!

Quick update to my situation - my application finally moved to step 3 yesterday! Applied Jan 3rd and took exactly 50 days to reach step 3. Hoping the final approval comes through soon.

I'm in the exact same situation! Filed on January 12th and still stuck on step 2 after 46 days. It's really reassuring to see I'm not alone in this - I was starting to think something was seriously wrong with my application. Reading through all these comments, it sounds like the January applications are just hitting a perfect storm of delays. I've been checking my account obsessively every day hoping to see it move to step 3. @Oscar O'Neil - congratulations on finally making it to step 3! That gives me hope that mine will move soon too. I think I'm going to try that suggestion about requesting an urgent callback through the message center since my 70th birthday is also coming up soon and I really need to know everything is on track.