COVID-19, General

Update on Our Reentry Plans

December 22, 2021 • By

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Last Updated: December 22, 2021

Social Security Administration LogoWe want to give you an update on our preparations for returning our employees to local Social Security offices, a process called reentry.

You may have seen a proposed reentry date of January 3, 2022 in the draft reentry plan that we provided to our unions, or in the media. While some executives reentered on December 1, we have not set a reentry date for the rest of the agency.

The best way to reach us is online at SSA.gov, or by calling our National 800 Number or a local Social Security office. At this time, please remember that we can only provide in-person service by appointment only for limited, critical issues. And we continue to hold voluntary hearings by online video and phone. We are taking steps to increase in-person help for people unable to complete their business online or by phone.

We will keep you updated on our reentry process.

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About the Author

Darlynda Bogle, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications

Darlynda Bogle, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications

Comments

  1. SStellaG

    I’ve called every day for two consecutive weeks and I am unable to get through. I used the email under contact us and still not answer. I am not sure what else to do. I need to apply for spousal death benefits which It cannot be done online and the clock is ticking. Per your website it needs to be done as soon as possible. What are my other options? What’s the trick to get through? I cant make an appointment because it also requires a phone call.

    • V.V.

      Hi Stella, thanks for using our blog. We are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 where we have representatives available from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. business days. You can also call your local Social Security office. Please look for the general inquiry telephone number at the Social Security Office Locator. The number may appear under Show Additional Office Information.

  2. Ahmed H.

    Hi, I have been trying to get a replacement for a lost SS card since June 2021. I am non-US citizen and the card is a requirement for me to get a driver’s license. I have tried to contact the Jersey City office but could not get an appointment as no one answers their call. I tried Newark office and they said that they cannot assist me if I am not in a resident in Newark, which I found a bit odd. Please let me know how I can be helped. Thanks. Ahmed.

    • V.V.

      Hi Ahmed. Thanks for using our blog. We apologize for the difficult time you are experiencing working with Social Security. We have referred your complaint to our Office of Operations to follow up and to take corrective action as necessary.

  3. Jennifer C.

    The offices need to open. Anyone who is not in their IEP (and therefore cannot use the online enrollment system) for Medicare Part B cannot get enrolled without multiple faxes, phone calls or congressional help. This is ridiculous. Scheduled outbound phone calls are not being made. Prior to March 2020, I have had to request Congressional help one time. Now I am sending people to their representative 4 or 5 times a month, just to get enrolled in Part B. Its time to open the offices and allow in person appointments.

    • V.V.

      Hi Jennifer, thanks for using our blog. Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions web page for details on the various enrollment options for signing up for Part B. In addition, our Social Security and Coronavirus web page highlights the options for enrolling in Medicare in the Special Enrollment Period. We hope this is helpful!

      • Jenny

        Vonda,

        I appreciate the response. The issue is not what information is listed on the website, its an issue with faxes being lost (and I am sure the offices are overwhelmed), calls not being completed as scheduled and just general inefficiency and a complete lack of urgency. In many cases, I am providing 3+ fax confirmations to get Part B dates backdated. We need the offices to open.

  4. Alan Z.

    I signed my Medicare B application on November 23, 2021 with an expected start date of 1/1/22. I very much need to find the status of my application. I have tried to call my local office many times without luck (stay on line and then told that I need to call back). I have also tried to get this info from the national number. I understand that Covid has made staffing difficult, but it seems that it is impossible to get help.

    • V.V.

      Hi Alan, thanks for using our blog. We are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 where we have representatives available from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. business days. You can also call your local Social Security office. Please look for the general inquiry telephone number at the Social Security Office Locator. The number may appear under Show Additional Office Information.

  5. David B.

    Most Americans are clueless about most things about our dysfunctional government. Wake up people the SSA is in business to bankrupt you why you worked and paid in like an insurance policy but yet you have to fight the MF for something you paid into. I am 55, college educated, and a veteran and am seriously thinking about leaving this country as it took 3 years to get disability after a double knee replacement and a spine injury from a boating accident. Only winners are the lawyers and the employees who keep getting a paycheck while you hurry up and wait…wake the F up!!! LMAO…sad thing is the VA is no different hell look at our Congress there even dysfunctional…thinking bunch of cry babies over here most Americans havn’t experienced terrorist acts…lmao…if the real patriots show up in Washington they will burn the MF down and there would be a lot more casualities…wake up America there are a bunch of dip shits running our country don’t put up with this bullshit anymore!!! I filed an appeal last May and finally got a letter sent to an old address that took 3 months to get to me…you can’t get anyone to do a thing there or be responsible have called numerous times to only get conflicting info…hey who is in charge of this place??? Call your own customer service number and see what the hell goes on then you would understand??? I have been homeless off and on during this approval process while third party people slept in a bed i slept in my truck…first question I aslk any politician that make the laws “Have you ever been on food stamps or medicaid???”…Wake the hell up USA don’t put up with substandard services and results!!! Hey SSA thanks for increasing the 2 lawyers salary for the work that i did and handed over to them to only never see my complete file and ended up firing both of them and lied to by the ALJ…Was denied even though SSA admitted in there letter that my case was severe??? If i could get what I paid into the system in pennies I would shove them in some places where the sun doesn’t shine!!!
    P.S.-TRUE STORY!!!

  6. Nancy E.

    I have been trying to report wages, and the site says that the info I entered is wrong. Now they will probably take my DS daughters money away. What do I do?

    • V.V.

      Hi Nancy, thanks for reaching out. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. We ask that members in our Blog community work with our offices with specific questions. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 where we have representatives available from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. business days. You can also call your local Social Security office. Please look for the general inquiry telephone number at the Social Security Office Locator. The number may appear under Show Additional Office Information.

  7. Deanna B.

    My husband received a letter stating that his social security is suspended. That he made too much. This is however his very first month to be retired and the previous income should fall under the 1st year rule. We can’t get through to SSA by phone, the emails go unanswered and we are running put of options with no income we could lose our home. I understand covid is an issue, but it’s not an excuse for causing its recipients so much grief. I’m furious that we have no options and don’t think they are doing a good job. It’s the worst customer service and communication I have ever seen. I am disgusted.

    • Dick

      Get a lawyer (Pro Bono) and sue theses tramps. This SSA is like the USPS, two leaches on our taxes dollars, full of obese employees going out early on SSDI and getting the full retirement checks. Talk about a department that needs to be gutted and rehired from the top up, but this is it!

    • Tellya L.

      I am currently dealing with the exact situation! They are withholding 2.5 months of benefits b/c they did not consider the “first year rule” and counted my income from the job I just retired from! I have spent so much time on the phone listening to music and waiting only to have the phone disconnect. Done this over and over. I finally got through to make an appoint. I have a phone appointment in 7 weeks, which will be after they withhold my benefits! I filed an appeal online then sent my documentation to my local office only to receive a notice 4 weeks later telling me exactly when they are going to begin taking back the money they mistakenly think is theirs! How is this “keeping us safe” when many of us may end up on the streets? The people in the medical fields are working in the mist of this pandemic, everyday! Why would an office with plastic windows separating people be a problem for in person work? I sent yet another packet, this time with a tracing number. Let’s see what happens, pray for me and the others who are losing benefits b/c SSA believes their people should be more protected than those who save lives! or recommend a good lawyer!

    • V.V.

      Hi Deanna, thanks for using our blog. We are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 where we have representatives available from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. business days. You can also call your local Social Security office. Please look for the general inquiry telephone number at the Social Security Office Locator. The number may appear under Show Additional Office Information.

      • Stephanie S.

        Guess what! They are so terrible, they cut off my disabled benefits on 12/25/2021, and I did not get a check so my Medicare payment bounced. Nothing like giving me notice. I have spent 12 hours trying to get someone to answer the phone who can help me. I can’t believe they did this again. They did it in 2014 and I had no income for 2 years, when they finally figured out their mistake, which cost me all my 401k and IRA. I now have no reserve funds and no food or money. I have called and faxed the Hackensack NJ office and no return call, no correspondence. When I called Baltimore, they said my letters and faxes have not made it to my file. This is a joke! I worked 3 jobs for 20 years and paid in triple. I can’t even get anything when I am now disabled. I have begged for help but they just don’t care. Get more people to help this aging population!

        • V.V.

          Hi Stephanie. Thanks for using our blog. We apologize for the difficult time you are experiencing working with Social Security. We have referred your complaint to our Office of Operations to follow up and to take corrective action as necessary.

  8. Jody y.

    I had an appointment on the 4th at 9 to find out why I never received the money I was supposed to and why they took it away I never got my appointment so I like to have an appointment to talk about money that’s missing Plus I’m losing my house because I cannot afford to live on what you give me and then take away and then when I called they don’t know why they took it away I stayed on the phone tonight for an hour no one ever answers and no one ever calls back.

    • V.V.

      Hi Jody, thanks for using our blog. We are very sorry to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing. You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 where we have representatives available from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. business days. You can also call your local Social Security office. Please look for the general inquiry telephone number at the Social Security Office Locator. The number may appear under Show Additional Office Information.

  9. Suzanne

    Public safety is of up most concern.
    I appreciate SSA is working to keep me safe. They are doing their best. I can promise you that you don’t want to contract this…SSA is working to serve the community in a way that keeps people safe. We need to all work together.

  10. Marco A.

    I need some replacement my Sss card tht i miss placed whn i move to new place n i cant go in there office tht u close even there some stuff inside and working because my all document is need to present to get my replace card n i cnt do online

    • V.V.

      Hi Marco, thanks for using our blog. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions web page on how to apply for a replacement Social Security card. All submitted documents must be either originals or certified copies by the issuing agency. We cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies of documents.

      Our Social Security and Coronavirus web page, under “Social Security Numbers and Cards”, provides details on the documents you need to mail in with your Social Security card application to get a replacement card and options for submitting those documents. We temporarily expanded our policy to accept secondary identity documents.

Comments are closed.