Have you noticed that a significant number of Social Security field offices across the country are being closed?
Many people have and now they are starting to speak out. Last week, Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME, wrote a letter to the editor of the Foster’s Daily Democrat urging people to contact politicians about the closures.
“As Baby Boomers reach retirement age, more and more Americans today are receiving Social Security benefits,” Collins wrote. “In the past five years, the SSA has closed 64 of approximately 1,245 field offices — the largest field office reduction in history — and shuttered 533 temporary mobile offices. Furthermore, it has reduced field office hours and started closing some offices at noon on Wednesdays last year.”
Collins wrote that politicians must now do their best to ensure face-to-face services for the SSA. She discusses how she is troubled by a draft planned by the agency titled “Vision 2025,” which proposes that it move from face-to-face services to an “online systems as the primary means of serving beneficiaries over the next 11 years.”
“This is completely unrealistic,” Collins wrote. “The fact is, millions of seniors and disabled Americans are not accustomed to doing business online, and, particularly in rural areas, many do not have access to computers or high-speed Internet services in their homes.”
To read the letter, you can click here. Collins also expresses concerns over the SSA’s transparency when it comes to the decision-making for the office closures.
Can I Collect Social Security Benefits If My Spouse Works?
As we have reported previously, it is unfortunate that the SSA is having to cut back on so many service options. Acting commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin hinted in April that most of these closures are a result of the agency not receiving requested budget allocations.
If you have questions relating to existing Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, you can visit the agency’s website. However, if you have questions about an application for benefits, it may be in your best interest to contact our attorneys.
We can help you navigate your way through the disability process, which can be very complicated, as most initial applications are denied. If you ever have questions about Social Security benefits, contact our attorney today who can help you. Call our office at (918) 265-1404.
Troutman & Troutman, P.C. – Tulsa Social Security disability attorneys
Source: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140706/GJOPINION_0102/140709769/0/SEARCH
