The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Social Security Benefits Will be Paid On Time
Andrew Saul, Commissioner of Social Security, reminds the public that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefit payments will continue to be paid on time during the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency also reminds everyone to be aware of scammers who try to take advantage of the pandemic to trick people into providing personal information or payment via retail gift cards, wire transfers, internet currency, or by mailing cash, to maintain Social Security benefit payments or receive economic impact payments from the Department of the Treasury.
“Social Security will pay monthly benefits on time and these payments will not be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Commissioner Saul said. “I want our beneficiaries to be aware that scammers may try to trick you into thinking the pandemic is stopping or somehow changing your Social Security payments, but that is not true. Don’t be fooled.”
The Department of the Treasury will soon provide information about economic impact payments under the recently enacted law, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. Treasury, not Social Security, will be making direct payments to eligible people. Please do not call Social Security about these payments as the agency does not have information to share.
The agency continues to direct the public to its online self-service options whenever possible. Local offices are closed to the public but are available by phone. People can find their local field office phone number by accessing the Field Office Locator at https://secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp.
To allow available agents to provide better phone coverage, the agency is temporarily changing the National 800 Number hours starting on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. The hours will change from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time to 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. local time. The agency is experiencing longer than normal wait times on the 800 Number and asks the public to remain patient, use its online services at http://www.socialsecurity.gov, or call their local office.
Please visit the agency’s COVID-19 web page at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/
coronavirus/ for important information and updates.
Important Information about Social Security Services
We recognize that you may have questions about how the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) will affect Social Security services. The first thing you should know is that we continue to pay Social Security and SSI benefits. Also, beware of scammers who may try to trick you into thinking the pandemic is stopping your Social Security payments. This threat is not true. Don’t let the scammers fool you.
We want to share other important information about our services during this pandemic.
To protect you and our employees, and help stop the spread of COVID-19, we cannot accept visitors in our offices at this time. We provide many services online and limited, critical services via phone and email. During the pandemic, we are dedicating available staff to serve people in most critical need of our services.
Need help from Social Security? Many of our services are available online at http://www.ssa.gov/onlineservices, including:
• Applying for benefits.
• Setting up or changing your direct deposit.
• Changing your address, if you get benefits.
• Getting proof of your benefits.
We strongly encourage you to try our convenient and secure online services before calling us.
Please be aware that our call wait times are much longer than normal. Save time and go online.
For more information, please visit our COVID-19 page at http://www.ssa.gov/coronavirus. There you can find out what limited services we can provide by phone, and important information about deadlines we are extending to ease the burden on you and medical providers during this pandemic. You can also subscribe to get an email or text message notification when we update the page so you stay informed.
Please share our COVID-19 page with your friends and family.
Social Security Offices Closed
All local Social Security offices are closed to the public for in-person service. This decision protects the populations we serve—older Americans and people with underlying medical conditions—and our employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. However, we are still able to provide critical services.
Please visit our Social Security & Coronavirus webpage to get updates on the latest, including how to get help from the Social Security Administration by phone and online. I encourage you to share this information with your members, colleagues, affiliates, and other interested parties.
Visit: https://www.ssa.gov/coronavirus/
@SSAOutreach at https://twitter.com/ssaoutreach?lang=en
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