Shutdown halts SSA benefit verification letters
The Social Security Administration says that while retirement and disability payments continue during the federal shutdown, field offices cannot provide benefit verification letters via in‑person visits or live phone assistance, leaving only online accounts and an automated phone system. Unionized SSA workers report 60–70% of calls now seek these letters—often needed on deadlines for mortgages, rent subsidies and fuel assistance—and the agency confirms it is operating under its shutdown contingency plan.
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📌 Key Facts
- SSA suspended in‑person and representative-assisted issuance of benefit verification letters; online and automated phone access remains.
- AFGE-represented workers report 60–70% of calls during the shutdown are urgent requests for verification letters.
- SSA spokesperson: payments continue; services limited under the shutdown contingency plan.
- Examples cited include an elderly borrower at risk of losing a mortgage and an 89‑year‑old facing loss of rent subsidy without timely letters.