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Social Security workers say the shutdown has them unable to help with benefit letters, NPR
Social Security workers say the shutdown has them unable to help with benefit letters, NPR 10/10/25
. . .
While the agency continues to disburse retirement and disability benefits, workers say they are unable to provide benefit verification letters to people calling in to request them.
These official letters act as a sort of income verification and are therefore key to obtaining aid like housing assistance, fuel assistance and help from nonprofits.
"Not only do people need these letters when they apply for those benefits, but they also often need to recertify to prove that they continue to have an eligible income level, and it often happens on a deadline," says Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Beneficiaries can still access their verification letter online and through the Social Security Administration's automated phone system, the agency says. But during the shutdown, in-person support for the letters is suspended, and when recipients call in to speak with a field office representative, they can't get help with their letter.
Additionally, critics of the SSA's automated phone system, which include a group of Democratic senators, have reported that it often glitches, loops and doesn't solve a caller's problem.
. . . even when beneficiaries are able to set up an account online, they often have issues.
More: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/10/10/npr-social-security-shutdown-benefit-verification-letters
. . .
While the agency continues to disburse retirement and disability benefits, workers say they are unable to provide benefit verification letters to people calling in to request them.
These official letters act as a sort of income verification and are therefore key to obtaining aid like housing assistance, fuel assistance and help from nonprofits.
"Not only do people need these letters when they apply for those benefits, but they also often need to recertify to prove that they continue to have an eligible income level, and it often happens on a deadline," says Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Beneficiaries can still access their verification letter online and through the Social Security Administration's automated phone system, the agency says. But during the shutdown, in-person support for the letters is suspended, and when recipients call in to speak with a field office representative, they can't get help with their letter.
Additionally, critics of the SSA's automated phone system, which include a group of Democratic senators, have reported that it often glitches, loops and doesn't solve a caller's problem.
. . . even when beneficiaries are able to set up an account online, they often have issues.
More: https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/10/10/npr-social-security-shutdown-benefit-verification-letters
Another example is a person losing the mortgage he applied for because he couldn't supply verification of his SS income.
And it's getting cold, and verification letters are needed for fuel assistance ... and there are deadlines for that.
Speaking of deadlines, it's too late for posting in LBN.