Recent news that the Arlington Virginia Social Security field office will soon close has many people scratching their heads. As you can see from this letter written to the Senate chair and ranking member of the Special Committee on Aging, the Arlington field office may close as soon as June.
One rationale Social Security uses for closing field offices is that a population decrease has occurred in the area in question. This can’t be the rationale for closing the Arlington field office because Arlington has increased its population by 13 percent since 2010. Max Richtman, the president and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, called on the Senate committee to investigate Social Security’s practice of closing offices. If you remember, the recent closing of a Milwaukee field office initiated an investigation of whether Social Security followed its own policies in deciding to close that office earlier this year.
“On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, I write to ask that the Senate Special Committee on Aging exercise its oversight authority to examine the practice of the Social Security Administration weakening its ability to serve the American people by systematically closing and consolidating its field offices,” wrote Richtman.
It should be no secret that as the Baby Boom Generation continues to get older more and more seniors are going to need services from Social Security and Richtman doesn’t see closing offices as a good practice.
“We are deeply concerned about these trends and how they will affect the quality of service that SSA will provide in the future as about 10,000 seniors turn 65 each day and file for Social Security and Medicare benefits,” he said.
The letter written to the Senators was dated April 26, 2018, so far there is no indication what steps the committee might take to evaluate future closings.
