WASHINGTON — Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds, R-Clarence, is criticizing the Social Security Administration for proposing a pilot project that, beginning in March, would close the agency’s Buffalo area offices to the public three hours early every Wednesday afternoon.
The agency says the program is under consideration as a possible way for office workers to catch up on the mounting backlog of work — growing larger with baby boomers beginning to sign up for retirement benefits and call volume threatening to surpass staffing limitations.
“I understand concerns about having insufficient staff to adequately handle the agency’s current workload, but I assure you that limiting access to the public will not solve that problem and will only create further backlogs, confusion and dissatisfaction among the members of the public whom your agency serves,” Reynolds said in a letter to Michael J. Astrue, Social Security commissioner.
Reynolds said the plan could backfire and adversely affect senior citizens and disabled people.
The Empire State News reports that Social Security will not go ahead with the reduction in offce hours -- until March.
4 comments:
All offices should close one day during the week and be open on Saturday. SSA talks about customer service, but no offices have hours that are convenient for people to come in without taking off work.
Especially, the SSN Card Centers that require everyone to come in to apply and only the Brooklyn Card Center has late hours on Thursdays.
ODAR offices should have Saturday and evening hours for disability claimants who work.
No need. Working applicants get paid on the record.
off-interviewing days are desperately needed to address paperwork--developing and clearing claims and postentitlement work. If the congressman doesn't like it, he should push for more funding for additional staff--otherwise, he should just butt out.
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