Changes that could impact Minot’s Social Security office are under review, according to information from the Department of Government Efficiency and the Social Security Administration.

The DOGE has listed a potential savings of $163,718 in annual lease cost and $586,657 in total cost savings associated with changes involving the Minot office, which is located at 1414 20th Ave. SW.

A statement from the office of U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, said, “It is our understanding that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is reviewing office space leased for remote hearing spaces only, and is not closing the SSA field office in Minot. The review is preliminary and a final determination has not been made. While we support efforts to find cost-savings and reduce the prevalence of unused federal office space, we also want to ensure that Social Security recipients in Minot and the surrounding region continue to have access to convenient customer service.”

A Social Security Administration spokesperson issued a statement, saying, “We are working with GSA (U.S. General Services Administration) to review our leases and ensure they are used efficiently. Most of the leases we are not renewing are for small remote hearing sites that are co-located with other Federal space. As the majority of our hearings are held virtually, we no longer need as many in-person hearings locations. In fact, in FY24, twenty percent of these offices held no in-person hearings. Other offices are non-public facing, being consolidated into nearby locations, or we had planned to close. Social Security continuously monitors and evaluates the use of our office space to maximize efficiency for the American taxpayer.”