Say you are turning 65 and want to sign up for Medicare.

Or you need help applying for disability or Social Security.

You might find yourself freefalling down a rabbit hole because Social Security field offices, including the one in Auburn, have been closed since March 2020.

They have offered only remote (telephone, video, internet) services because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This does not work for everyone, including residents of rural areas or those without access to transportation or technology. These populations have struggled for help with Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, according to AARP.

“We know that those options do not work for everyone,” spokesperson Nicole Tiggemann of the Social Security Administration told AARP in November.

She said the administration was working on increasing in-person accessibility.

According to AARP financial writer John Waggoner, the Social Security Administration is preparing to return 45,000 employees to field offices March 30.

An announcement on the Auburn SSA web page stipulates all offices will reopen to the public at the beginning of April.

However, the reopening is “subject to changes in pandemic conditions and further negotiations with agency components,” according to the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents most SSA workers.

In the meantime, in-person appointments at field offices are limited to critical situations, such as lack of food, medicine or shelter.

“Customer service at the Social Security Administration continues to be a concern for AARP and many older Americans and their families,” according to a statement released to the news media.

Comments on AARP’s web announcement of the possible reopening were harshly critical of the Social Security Administration.

One commenter said she was mistakenly unenrolled from Medicare Part B. The administration admitted its mistake, she said, but that is where the help ended.

“I have called and spoken with my local SSA office nine times and received at least 7 different answers and the national office twice,” she wrote. “Bottom line …. still no Part B as of Feb, 2022 and no needed medical care …. breast cancer survivor, melanoma twice, glaucoma.”

AARP offered tips last week for those struggling to reach the Social Security Administration:

• Go online to SSA.gov. A page has been set up specifically for work during the pandemic:https://www.ssa.gov/coronavirus/categories/conducting-business-with-social-security-during-the-pandemic/.

• Not everyone has the option to go online, so some should call the national toll-free line at 1-800-772-1213 or find a local field office at: www.secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp. You can also set up an appointment by telephone to avoid long waits.

• Under some circumstances, the Social Security Administration might decide an in-office appointment is the only way to provide the necessary assistance (this seems to be for rare exceptions).

Waggoner wrote that AARP officials hope the organization’s members soon see a return to normalcy at the Social Security Administration.

He quoted Joel Eskovitz, director of Social Security and Savings at the AARP Public Policy Institute.

“It’s been a year and a half (since field offices closed), and there are just some services that can’t be done remotely,” Eskovitz said. “While recognizing the health and safety challenges to the public and staff, at this stage of the pandemic there needs to be additional options for people who need in-person support.”​​

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