Social Security offices close due to coronavirus. Here’s how you can still get help
Local Social Security offices are closed for in-person service indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The agency is advising that phone and online service will be available as “local offices will focus on specific critical workloads only.”
The agency has been under fire as some employees have complained that telework was being discouraged and their health was being put at risk of getting the coronavirus.
The Trump administration has called for flexibility for telework for employees of all agencies located in the Washington, D.C., area, and expanded that to other parts of the country Monday.
In many Social Security offices, employees still sit in 6-by-6 foot cubicles in rooms with dozens of people, said Rich Couture, spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees’ Social Security Administration general committee. He an overwhelming number of those employees are still on the job, with no letup in sight.
The Social Security Administration, though, announced it was cutting back on face-to-face contact with the public at its 1,250 field offices.
“This decision protects the population we serve — older Americans and people with underlying medical conditions — and our employees during the coronavirus pandemic,” the agency said on its website..
It advised people to first use the online services available at https://www.ssa.gov/onlineservices/.
“You can apply for retirement, disability, and Medicare benefits online, check the status of an application or appeal, request a replacement Social Security card (in most areas), print a benefit verification letter, and much more,” it said.
“We also have a wealth of information to answer most of your Social Security questions online, without having to speak with a Social Security representative in person or by phone.”
If none of that works, look at the agency’s online field service locator on its website for information about contacting a local office. That office will still be available to provide help applying for benefits and answering other questions over the phone.
“We will send critical payments by mail or we will schedule an appointment for you to visit the office for pickup,” the Social Security Administration advised on its website.
Appointments will still be available, and the priority for phone appointments will be dire-need claim situations..
“If you already have a scheduled appointment, we will attempt to contact you by phone and/or reschedule for a telephone appointment.,” the Social Security Administration said. “Your call may come from a PRIVATE number and not from a U.S. Government phone. Please remember that our employees will not threaten you or ask for any form of payment.”
One other option: The national Social Security hotline at 1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Social Security offices close due to coronavirus. Here’s how you can still get help."
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