Social Security Commissioner Corrects Record on Local Office Closures

The issue is related to the approximately 1,230 agency offices servicing regional populations.

People are standing in front of a Social Security Administration in Flushing, New York, on Feb. 10, 2021. Chung I Ho/The Epoch Times

The Social Security Administration dismissed reports of the agency permanently shutting down some of its offices, saying that such discussions are only taken after consulting with local congressional officials.

“Recent reports in the media that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is permanently closing local field offices are false,” the agency said in a March 27 statement.

Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, said the SSA has “not permanently closed any local field offices this year.” The agency added that they have not made any announcement for the permanent closure of such offices since Jan. 1.

However, “from time to time, SSA must temporarily close a local field office for reasons such as weather, damage, or facilities issues,” said the agency, adding that these are not permanent shutdowns, and that the offices are reopened “when the issues are resolved.”

The SSA has roughly 1,230 field offices across the United States dedicated to providing services at the regional level. People can visit these offices to apply for social security and supplemental security benefits, apply for new or replacement social security cards, and make updates to benefits information, among other things.

The agency’s clarification comes as a recent report from the Associated Press that 47 SSA offices were listed for closure.

The SSA said it works closely with local congressional delegations before making a decision on permanently shutting down an office. In addition, the SSA also reassigns workers from the closed office to other sites “to help communities access in-person services.”

Dudek said the agency is “committed to providing service where people need help and our local field offices are no exception.”

The SSA has identified underutilized office space and informed the General Services Administration in a bid to ensure taxpayer funds are used properly. A list of sites for termination has been provided to the General Services Administration.

“Most of these are small hearing rooms with no assigned employees,” the agency said. “Since most hearings are held virtually, SSA no longer needs these underutilized rooms.” The SSA has, so far, announced permanent closure of one hearing office located in White Plains, New York.

Agency Restructuring

While there aren’t any permanent local office closures, the SSA is implementing plans to cut staff.

Last month, the agency said it would soon implement “agency-wide organizational restructuring that will include significant workforce reductions.”

The SSA “may reassign employees from non-mission critical positions to mission critical direct service positions (e.g., field offices, teleservice centers, processing centers). Reassignments may be involuntary and may require retraining for new workloads.”

The SSA announced various programs to reduce its workforce, such as deferred resignation and voluntary separation with incentives.

According to the latest update, 345 SSA employees have so far accepted the agency’s Deferred Resignation Program.

In addition, 2,477 employees have been confirmed eligible for its Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment under which those who choose to exit are paid between $15,000 and $25,000.

“SSA submitted its draft Reduction-in-Force (RIF) plan to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) by the deadline of March 13, 2025. No date has been set when the plan might be approved or begin,” said the SSA.

“A RIF may not be implemented if the agency sees sufficient staff reductions through retirement, VSIP, and resignation.”

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the SSA, Frank Bisignano, said during his recent Senate confirmation hearing that there was no plan to privatize the SSA.

“I’ve never thought about privatizing,” he said. “It’s not a word that anybody’s ever talked to me about, and I don’t see this institution as anything other than a government agency that gets run for the benefit of the American public.”

Bisignano, a former JPMorgan Chase executive, also said he intends to “get the error rate down” with regard to social security beneficiary payments.

When asked whether he would “lock DOGE out” of SSA databases, Bisignano replied that he aims to ensure the databases are secured.

“I’m going to do whatever is required to protect the information that is private information, so I don’t know what ‘lock DOGE out’ means, but there’s way more than DOGE that can’t have access to that information,” he said.