(NewsNation) — According to a study released on May 27, around 25% of the country’s population faces an over an hour drive to the closest Social Security field office.
The study, conducted by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), indicates that 13.5 million seniors are impacted by the absence of nearby field offices, with some distances increasing when considering traffic conditions.
Although previous proposals to cut phone services were halted, individuals failing the anti-fraud check will still be required to visit an office. It’s projected that these changes will lead to an additional 1.93 million visits to Social Security offices each year.
The CBPP said that, without traffic, half of seniors are at least 33 minutes from a Social Security office.
Where seniors could face the longest driving times to Social Security offices
According to the CBPP study, in 31 states, more than 25% of seniors will face travel times of over one hour to get to a local Social Security office. In some less-populated states, this number jumps to over 40% of seniors who would need to drive more than an hour.
The states in that over-40% category include:
- Arkansas
- Iowa
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Wyoming
There are other states where 25% to 39% of seniors would have to travel over an hour. Some of those states include Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia.
The driving times listed in this study don’t factor in how long it can take to get an appointment or the time spent waiting for that appointment to start, according to CBPP.
Social Security staffing cuts could make appointments take longer
Back in February, it was reported that there would be major cuts in Social Security. However, the Trump administration did limit what Elon Musk could accomplish in terms of firing federal employees in March. Social Security did say that it planned on cutting 7,000 employees at one point.
It had also been reported previously that the Department of Government Efficiency planned on closing some Social Security offices across the nation. However, at this point, that hasn’t happened. The Social Security Administration also denied plans to close local field offices.
The agency is already dealing with slower wait times. Online data from the SSA shows that only 43% of individuals are able to get a benefits appointment within 28 days. There have also been reports that the agency plans to add artificial intelligence to its phone systems. It is unclear how that could affect wait times.
