Donald Trump’s inauguration falls on the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 20, and many federal offices will suspend services due to the holiday.
Many Social Security recipients may be wondering if their local Social Security office is open to continue resolving issues related to benefits, but all offices are closed throughout the holiday.
Why It Matters
More than 65 million Americans receive benefits from the Social Security Administration, and they rely on Social Security offices to issue new Social Security cards or deal with issues pertaining to their benefit amount.
What To Know
While Trump’s inauguration in and of itself isn’t closing Social Security offices on January 20, the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will cause all federal offices to close their doors on Monday.
Banks will also close their doors for the holiday, so you shouldn’t expect any in-person services at Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America or other large financial institutions.
All federal and state courts will be closed for the day as well.
While the United States Postal Services stops its services on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, FedEx will remain open and deliver packages as regularly scheduled.
While non-essential government workers will get the day off, it is up to private companies’ discretion if they offer the holiday to their employees.
The last time Social Security offices closed was for the National Day of Mourning on January 9 in honor of the 39th president, Jimmy Carter. Carter died last month at the age of 99.
Since the Social Security Fairness Act was recently passed by Congress, many seniors may have questions about how this impacts their benefits, so the closures could affect some beneficiaries more than others.
What People Are Saying
The SSA said on its website: “All Social Security offices will be closed on the following federal holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday.”
Regarding the recent changes to benefits, Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “This is a classic example of the government putting the cart before the horse. While the introduction and passage of the Social Security Fairness Act was met with praise from both Republicans and Democrats, little was said about the strategy for actually implementing it. There could potentially be over 70,000 additional recipients with added Social Security benefits because of the act, and that requires more manpower and processing time from the Social Security Administration.”
What Happens Next
Following Trump’s inauguration ceremony, he will officially be president of the United States.
Social Security recipients waiting to get an issue related to their benefits resolved will be able to get help from their local office beginning Tuesday morning.
The next Social Security office holiday is Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 17.
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