Effective Nov. 19, Wisconsin Social Security offices will be open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., a reduction of 30 minutes each weekday. In addition, offices will close to the public at noon every Wednesday beginning Jan. 2, 2013.

While agency employees will continue to work their regular hours, this shorter public window will allow them to complete face-to-face interviews and process claims work without incurring the cost of overtime. The significantly reduced funding provided by Congress under the continuing resolution for the first six months of the fiscal year makes it impossible for the agency to provide the overtime needed to handle service to the public as it has done in the past.

In addition, on Nov. 23, all Social Security field offices will be closed to the public. Employees working that day will focus on reducing backlogged workloads.

Most Social Security services do not require a visit to a local office. Many services, including applying for retirement, disability or Medicare benefits, signing up for direct deposit, replacing a Medicare card, obtaining a proof of income letter or informing Social Security of a change of address or telephone number are available at socialsecurity.gov or by dialing our toll-free number, (800) 772-1213. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our TTY number, (800) 325-0778. Many of our online services are also available in Spanish at segurosocial.gov.

Ken Hess is the Public Affairs Specialist for Northern Wisconsin. He may be contacted via email at Kenneth.hess@ssa.gov.