Fraud-Proof Cards for Social Security Pegged at $10 Billion

The government could produce a tamper-proof Social Security card with an individual worker’s picture, but it could cost as much as $10 billion and take as long as 10 years to generate new cards for every person, the Social Security Administration said in a report released Monday.

The study, which comes amid growing concerns over fraudulent use of cards by undocumented workers, represents the most serious examination so far of making Social Security cards more resistant to counterfeiting.

Issued in response to a request by Congress in last year’s immigration and welfare reforms, the report does not make any recommendations on whether new cards should be issued.

An “enhanced” card of this type also “raises policy issues about privacy and the potential for the card to be used as a national identification card,” the agency acknowledged in a report to Congress.

About 277 million cards are outstanding; they are printed on paper with few security features. The issuance of new cards would be a massive job, particularly with the addition of information on an individual’s citizenship status, a picture, or a fingerprint.

All these additional features would make it considerably more difficult to obtain cards illegally. But the production of cards would become more costly, and the card itself could be employed as a national identification document.

Many Americans strongly oppose the concept of a national ID card as a violation of privacy and a threat to their civil liberties.

The total of 277 million cardholders, which exceeds the U.S. population of 268 million, includes cards issued to people who have died but whose deaths have not been reported to Social Security, and cards held by noncitizens who have left the country.

To produce the new cards, the agency would mail at least two pieces of correspondence to each cardholder: a general announcement and then a specific letter asking for documentation about the individual, according to the report.

The most secure--and expensive--card considered in the report would include the individual’s picture, fingerprint, and complete information on work history and earnings. It would cost almost $10 billion for this approach.

A basic plastic card with limited security features, and without an individual photograph, would cost about $3.9 billion.

Congress also asked Social Security to look into charging people for the new card. Costs to the public would range from $18.70 for a basic plastic card to $37.90 for a card with optical storage, containing information on the worker’s earnings, the report said.

No fees are charged now for issuing the cards, and any new fee undoubtedly would stir considerable public opposition. The Social Security Administration has always opposed charging a fee because Social Security is a mandatory program for all workers.

“Public reaction can be expected to raise serious questions about the SSN [Social Security number] as an officially recognized national identity number, about protecting privacy, and about the value of spending large sums for a new card,” the Social Security Administration said in its report to Congress.