1 Social Security office in Mansfield on closure list

A Social Security Administration office in Mansfield is listed among many across the country scheduled to close later this year through the cost cutting of the recently formed U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

The location at 30 N. Diamond St., in Mansfield surfaced earlier this month in an online list published by DOGE. This week, a closing date of May 17 and other details were specified based on a national planning memo obtained by the Associated Press via the General Services Administration.

At that Mansfield office, total savings of $27,557 are specified with $15,031 in annual lease cost, per information on the "DOGE Wall of Receipts."

In Ohio, it is the only Social Security office on the closure list.

A second Social Security office in Mansfield is to remain open at 1287 S. Trimble Road.

The Social Security Administration also lists the availability of multiple other offices across Ohio, including in Marion and Wooster.

The planned closure of the Diamond Street office in Mansfield comes as the Social Security Administration announced this week it is "taking proactive steps to enhance the security of its services by implementing stronger identity verification procedures."

"The updated measures will further safeguard Social Security records and benefits against fraudulent activity," a news release stated.

Over the next two weeks, the Social Security Administration "will carefully transition to stronger identity proofing procedures for both benefit claims and direct deposit changes," the release stated.

"Individuals seeking these services who cannot use their personal 'my Social Security' account, which requires online identity proofing, will then need to visit a local Social Security office to prove their identity in person," the announcement said.

"At the same time, the agency will expedite processing all direct deposit change requests – both in person and online – to one business day," it added. "Prior to this change, online direct deposit changes were held for 30 days."