Social Security office closes, citizens troubled
Students returned to Logan this semester to find the Social Security Office at City Hall closed indefinitely with no evident explanation. Even employees in neighboring offices within City Hall were unsure as to the reasons behind the closure.
Gaylene Pebley, Logan Area Manager with the department of Work Force Services, said her office wasreceiving calls from citizens concerning the closure of the office. Calls were directed to the Ogden Office on 25th Street at the Federal Building, which is now the closest facility to Logan.
The closure was due to inevitable downsizing, said Phil Eimers, manager of the Ogden office.
“We really regretted doing that,” Eimers said.
Work Force Services had been using the City Hall office as a contact station for more than 10 years. It was open a few Wednesdays each month and provided full service for social security needs, Eimers said.
“We had hoped to have a more permanent position,” he said. “Unfortunately, across the board, the federal government has required our offices to downsize.”
The Ogden office is now responsible for providing five-day-a-week service to the north half of Davis County, Weber, Rich and Cache Counties.
“A year ago, we cut staff from two to one,” Eimers said. “Our staff has now depleted to 21 employees for Ogden.”
Pebley and Eimers agreed the Utah State University students affected most by the office’s closure are foreign students who must present various documents to receive account numbers.
Fortunately, students have other options than personal visits to fulfill most of their social security related tasks. Citizens can call the national hotline, 1-800-772-1213, to have questions answered and request necessary forms.
There is also a Web site available, www.ssa.gov, which allows individuals to request documents and information, fill-out necessary forms, access information in a personal account, and file for various benefits. Before embarking on a 45-minute drive to Ogden, one should check their options online, a hotline representative said.
Though some students must interact with Social Security now concerning citizenship, changing registered names and keeping updated on their benefits, most students will be involved with Social Security in the future. For example, most citizens eventually apply for one or more of the following: Retirement funds, disability funds, survivor benefits, supplemental security income and needs-based programs.
As far as the closure of the Logan office, Eimers said, “It will take at least six months to qualify new trainees to handle windows so we can start bringing some experienced folks up there again.”
Aware of how long the fulfillment of that goal could realistically take, Pebley said, students should contact their local government representatives or the necessary departments and voice their concerns to push the issue. Until then, Eimers said, students should save their gas and utilize their USU Internet account.