Even with a U.S. government shutdown beginning on Wednesday, Oct. 1, the 74 million Americans who collect Social Security will continue receiving their monthly checks, although some services could be disrupted due to a potential halt in federal activities, according to experts.
Social Security benefits are covered by mandatory spending, which means that the funding for the program has already been approved by Congress without an expiration date. As a result, Social Security recipients, including retirees, disabled Americans and the dependents of deceased workers, wouldn’t see an interruption in their monthly payments if the government shuts down.
However, other Social Security services could be impacted by a shutdown, according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare. The Social Security Administration’s working budget requires approval from Congress. The Senate on Tuesday voted down two competing Democratic and Republican proposals to keep the government funded past Sept. 30.
With no agreement having been reached, some Social Security services could be temporarily halted until the issue is resolved, according to both the Social Security Administration and experts on the retirement program.
“The system hasn’t missed a payment in its entire 90-year history and won’t start now,” Max Richtman, CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, said in an email. “But customer service at the Social Security Administration (SSA) may be disrupted, including benefit verifications, earnings record corrections and updates, overpayments processing, and replacing Medicare cards.”
In preparation for past shutdowns, each federal agency has created a contingency plan for its operations, with some employees expected to work without pay because they’re considered to be providing essential services. In an email to CBS News, the SSA said beneficiaries would continue to receive payments even if the government closes.
“In the event of a lapse in appropriation, SSA will follow the contingency plan for continued activities, and Social Security beneficiaries would continue receiving their Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, and SSI payments,” an agency spokesperson said.
Which Social Security services could be impacted?
That would depend on how many SSA employees are deemed to be essential, according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare.
In a Sept. 24 contingency plan published by the SSA, the agency said about 45,000 employees — almost 90% of its workforce — would stay on the job in case of a shutdown. Another roughly 6,200 workers would be furloughed, according to the planning document.
“We will continue activities critical to our direct-service operations and those needed to ensure accurate and timely payment of benefits,” the plan states. “We will cease activities not directly related to the accurate and timely payment of benefits or not critical to our direct-service operations.”
According to the new plan, the following are services that would be halted during a shutdown:
- Benefit verifications
- Earnings record corrections and updates unrelated to the adjudication of benefits
- Payee accountings
- Prisoner activities — suspension
- Requests from third parties for queries
- Freedom of Information Act requests
- IT enhancement activities, public relations and training
- Replacement Medicare cards
- Overpayments processing
Another aspect of Social Security could be delayed due to a shutdown: the Social Security Administration’s annual announcement of the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, to beneficiaries’ monthly payments. The COLA is intended to ensure that people’s benefits keep up with inflation and that the value of their Social Security income doesn’t erode over time.
The SSA announces the annual COLA each October when the Labor Department releases its Consumer Price Index data that month, which this year is scheduled for Oct. 15. But there could be a hitch this year if federal agencies shut down, according to the Labor Department.
“A delay of the CPI release during October of each year might have an impact on the Cost of Living Adjustment announcement by the Social Security Administration,” the Labor Department said in issuing a contingency plan that covers the impact of a possible shutdown on its operations.
When is the next Social Security payment?
Social Security payments would continue to go out as usual during a shutdown, with recipients of Supplemental Security Income — a program for low-income and disabled people — scheduled to receive their next checks on Oct. 1.
Social Security recipients will receive their checks on their usual schedule, which is based on their birth date. Those born between the 1st to 10th of their birth month will receive payment on Oct. 8, while those born between the 11th to 20th days will receive their payment on Oct. 15. People born between the 21st and the last day of their birth month will get their check on Oct. 22.
“If you’re a Social Security recipient, you’re going to get your check, and that’s obviously a good thing,” Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at the Pacific Research Institute, a think tank focused on free trade, told CBS News.
