Washington– the Social Security Administration It hopes to cut visits to its field offices in half next year, a move that signals fear at the agency More closures They are coming.
Field offices have long been community branches that serve as the public face of the Social Security Administration, providing personal assistance to people applying for retirement and disability benefits, obtaining Social Security cards and other important services.
The November internal field office operating plan shared with The Associated Press sets a proposed goal of a 50% reduction in field office visitors in fiscal year 2026 compared to fiscal year 2025, or no more than 15 million visits to field offices by members of the public. The agency’s field offices saw more than 31.6 million visits to field offices from SSA beneficiaries from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025, according to the agency document.
A Social Security spokesman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the administration’s plans for the agency, said field offices will remain a front-line service for the approximately 75 million Americans who receive monthly payments. However, the spokesperson noted that more Americans are choosing to manage their benefits online or by phone.
Nextgov/FCW first reported on the agency’s plan to reduce foot traffic at field offices.
At least 7000 SSA There were layoffs from the agency this year as the Trump administration proposed a number of plans to streamline services at SSA.
In March, after protests from lawmakers and the public, the S.S.A The leadership partially backed away from the plan This will require all new and existing beneficiaries who are unable to use the agency’s online portal to travel to a Social Security field office to verify their identity.
Jessica LaPointe, a union leader for 30,000 Social Security workers through the American Federation of Government Employees, or AFGE, said field offices are part of the quality-of-life agenda within communities, especially for “people who don’t have the resources to purchase the technology needed to navigate the online world and have to be able to walk into the office to get help.”
The SSA wants to “allow artificial intelligence and the internet to replace a well-trained and well-vetted workforce,” she said.
Many field offices in rural areas of the United States have already closed this year due to staff shortages.
Social Security’s website lists several offices that have closed as well as offices that have closed Only able to help by phone Until further notice.
Chris Delaney, a Social Security claims specialist and president of AFGE Local 3343 in Hudson, says he can’t imagine how the SSA could have a goal of reducing foot traffic when his office is seeing increased foot traffic and an aging population that relies on SSA income. The Hudson office receives approximately 30 to 60 visitors a day with questions about their benefits.
“A lot of people can’t get past identity verification login.gov“Just because they have a cell phone doesn’t mean they can set up an account online. Having people in the office when they need them is important,” Delaney said.
The 2026 operational plan also calls for all required appointments to be scheduled within 30 days, rather than the current rate of 78.3% of all appointments scheduled within 30 days.
Social Security is one of the largest and most popular social programs in the country. A January poll by The Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that two-thirds of American adults believe the country Spending too little on Social Security.
The agency has faced several lawsuits over the Trump administration’s plans to reform the agency.
In October, Democracy Forward, a legal group challenging Trump administration policies, filed a lawsuit to force the SSA to release public records about the outages and policy changes.
“After implementing the largest staff cuts in the 90-year history of Social Security, they are trying to deal with a problem they created without any meaningful discussion,” LaPointe said. “What they do is devoid of public input.”