Over 65 and No Cell Phone

You might guess all elderly in NYC have their own smart phones for making calls. However, the current NYC Comptroller and AARP research state 15-20% of New Yorkers aged 65 and over don’t own any mobile phones.

That can make life difficult because many official state and federal websites require two-factor authorization to use them. That includes the NY DMV, the Social Security Administration and Medicare. This means customers are required to verify with their email AND get a code by text or phone call. Common VOIP phones are classified as not valid to receive these codes. This makes it almost impossible to complete the verification process.

Until a third security verification option not requiring a cell phone is put into practice, seniors will have to ask for assistance from family, friends or IT professionals to access and monitor their benefits.

Written by Lou Ma