The Trump administration is giving most federal employees two additional days off this week — the days before and after Christmas — but the Social Security Administration plans to stay open on both of those days.

SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano told employees in an all-staff email on Sunday that the agency will keep field offices and phone lines open on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26, “in line with our commitment to meeting the public need.” Processing centers will also be staffed virtually, and virtual administrative law judge hearings will also be held on those days.

According to internal documents obtained by Federal News Network, SSA is looking for volunteers to keep operating these days.

“In order to balance the needs of the public and our workforce, we will solicit interest from employees who would like to work on Wednesday and Friday,” Bisignano told employees.

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Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order granting most federal employees additional days off on Dec. 24 and Dec. 26. It’s the first time in recent years that federal employees have received two additional days off around the holiday.

Federal employees already get Dec. 25 off for Christmas Day as a standard federal holiday.

Despite the additional days off for most, Trump’s executive order clarified that some agencies and offices may need to remain open, and that certain federal employees may still need to report for duty for “national security, defense or other public need.”

A former SSA executive told Federal News Network it was unusual for the agency to remain open during holidays declared by the president.

“I don’t believe it’s anywhere near normal,” the former SSA official said.

SSA typically sees a lower volume of calls and field office visits around the holidays. But visits and call volumes often spike back up in January. Keeping the agency open these days could reduce the need to reschedule appointments into 2026.

Federal News Network has reached out to SSA for comment.

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SSA employees who volunteer to work these days are eligible to receive holiday pay. Volunteers working in field offices and teleservice centers will work onsite. Field offices and phone lines will be staffed from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time.

The internal guidance states that a manager or officer-in-charge will be required onsite during these hours. They will receive holiday pay, as well as eight hours of administrative leave for each day worked.

Volunteers in processing centers will work a full eight-hour shift, and are also eligible for holiday pay. Processing center volunteers will need to work a full eight-hour shift, but all work will be done remotely.

Bisignano said SSA will ensure “necessary staffing” from IT and facilities will be working both days.

Bisignano told employees that keeping SSA open these two days is necessary “to serve the nearly 75 million seniors, disabled Americans, and most vulnerable who rely on us every day.”

“Since my confirmation as commissioner, I have pledged to meet our customers when and where they want to be served — online, on the phone, and in person,” he wrote.

SSA, however, is planning to cut visits to its field offices by half next year. NextGov/FCW first reported on the agency’s plan to reduce field office visits.

SSA lost about 7,000 employees this year through voluntary incentives. It also relocated many of its employees from its headquarters and regional offices to field offices.

Shortly after his Senate confirmation in May, Bisignano told employees in an internal call that his goal is to make SSA a “digital-first” organization, and to overhaul its website, so that more beneficiaries — primarily retirees and Americans with disabilities — can get their questions answered online, instead of over the phone or in person at field offices.

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“We’re never going to be client-first if we’re not digital-first in this era,” he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to win. You’re competing with experiences that people have with Amazon. If I can get something done at Amazon, why can’t I get something done the same way with Social Security? That’s how people think.”

Prior to Bisignano taking office, SSA under the Trump administration proposed and walked back several plans to limit the agency’s level of phone support to beneficiaries. SSA in mid-April launched an AI “anti-fraud” check on all claims filed over the phone, which added an extra three days to processing.

In a separate call, Bisignano said his goal was to get call wait times down to “single digits.” The agency, has removed public data on call wait times from its website.

Bisignano told employees that SSA will be able to implement new AI tools and provide better customer service to beneficiaries within his first year on the job.

“This is a six-year term, but it’s going to be less than a one-year job. I’m not saying we’re going to be done with this in a year. Doesn’t mean I’m leaving in a year, but that’s my time frame for this. We’ve waited too long. There’s too many items in the backlog. There’s too many people waiting,” he said.

Most of SSA’s workforce was deemed “excepted” during the recent government shutdown, meaning they continued to work and were only paid once the shutdown ended.

During the shutdown, however, SSA paused work on some mandated work with benchmarks set by Congress. That included continuing disability reviews (CDRs) and redetermination for Supplemental Security Income (RZs).

The former involves SSA reviewing the medical records of those receiving disability benefits, and determining whether they are still disabled. The latter involves the agency reviewing non-medical factors — like income and resources — to determine if individuals should remain on disability benefits.

Congress mandated SSA to complete 2.4 million redeterminations for Supplemental Security Income and 400,000 continuing disability reviews last year. SSA’s Chief of Field Operations Andy Sriubas told managers last month that the agency would reset its workload targets when the shutdown ended.

If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email jheckman@federalnewsnetwork.com, or reach out on Signal at jheckman.29

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