Following Constituent Concerns, Deluzio Calls for Social Security Administration to Clarify In-Person Appointment Policy
CARNEGIE, PA – This week, Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) sent a letter to Acting Social Security Administrator Michelle King calling for clarity on the Administration’s policy on in-person appointments. His office received multiple complaints from constituents seeking in-person appointments at Social Security field offices; they reported unmanned phones, confusing guidance on walk-in policies, and a requirement to book appointments online. Congressman Deluzio wrote this letter to Acting Administrator King to seek clarity for his constituents and make sure they can get the help they need from the Social Security Administration. More than 180,000 of his Western Pennsylvania constituents receive Social Security payments monthly, including more than 139,000 retirees.
The Congressman writes in his letter, “My staff and I have heard from seniors in my district detailing their confusion in how they can make appointments at certain Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices. Some claim their offices are appointment-only, but they are unable to get anyone to answer the phone at the field office make an appointment. Others are told they must try to navigate the website to do this or to even receive benefit statements despite their expressed inability to use a computer to do so. All of these messages are worrisome, and I request your assistance in clarifying the situation and getting answers for my constituents.”
The full letter is available here and pasted below:
The Honorable Michelle King
Acting Commissioner
Social Security Administration
1300 D Street SW
Washington, DC 20254
Dear Acting Commissioner King,
I write to you out of concern for my constituents who are having trouble getting the support they need from your office to secure their hard-earned Social Security benefits. My staff and I have heard from seniors in my district detailing their confusion in how they can make appointments at certain Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices. Some claim their offices are appointment-only, but they are unable to get anyone to answer the phone at the field office to make an appointment. Others are told they must try to navigate the website to do this or to even receive benefit statements despite their expressed inability to use a computer to do so. All of these messages are worrisome, and I request your assistance in clarifying the situation and getting answers for my constituents.
On December 3, 2024, the SSA announced on X that “beginning January 2025, you’ll need to make an appointment for in-person help.” The post then provided a link that explains how to do this on the website, or how to call if going through the website is not an option. For many seniors and others without smartphones or computers—or the skills to work them—attempting to make appointments online and then using a QR code to check in at the office is simply not an option. They are then left to call. But when no one in Social Security field offices is taking their calls, my constituents are stuck without the help and benefits they earned and need.
Some field offices in my district in Western Pennsylvania have told my staff, though, that they do not require appointments, and will service a walk-in appointment just the same. This confusion is unhelpful.
To help clear up some of the confusion for my constituents and those across the nation facing similar problems, please provide answers to the following questions:
- Are all Social Security Administration field offices requiring appointments, or can folks still receive assistance through unscheduled walk-ins? Will those without an appointment be turned away? If this answer is different for each office, please provide a list of each office’s requirements.
- What is being done to increase phone services so that calls are not going unanswered?
- What workforce development efforts are underway to combat staffing shortages so that all benefit recipients can get assistance in a timely fashion?
Our seniors, and those receiving Social Security benefits, are some of the best of us and have worked hard to earn their Social Security benefits and dignity in their golden years. It is the government’s duty to get them these earned benefits. Anything short of that is a tragic failure, and a betrayal of America’s seniors and beneficiaries.
Thank you and please respond with answers to my questions in a timely manner.
Very respectfully,
Chris Deluzio
Member of Congress
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