Social Security office to cut hours to save money

Effective Aug. 15, the Pittsburg Social Security office, which serves Fort Scott, will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. -- a reduction of 30 minutes each weekday.

While agency employees will continue to work their regular hours, this shorter public window will allow them to complete face-to-face service with the visiting public without incurring the cost of overtime, a news release said.

Congress provided Social Security with nearly $1 billion less than the President requested for the budget this fiscal year, which makes it impossible for the agency to provide the amount of overtime needed to handle service to the public as it has in the past, the release said.

Jewell Colbert, acting regional communications director for the Kansas City region, said the reduction in hours will occur nationwide. There will be no staff reductions, he said. He did not have a figure on how much money the early closures would save.

Social Security has approximately 1,300 field offices nationwide, 13 of which are in Kansas. There are about 60,000 Social Security employees nationwide working in all facets of the department, Colbert said.

The news release notes most Social Security services do not require an office visit. Services such as applying for benefits, signing up for direct deposit, replacing a Medicare card, obtaining a proof of income letter can be done at www.socialsecurity.gov, or by calling (800) 772-1213. Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can call the TTY number, (800) 325-0778.