Checks will keep coming for 70 million Americans, although some agency services will pause as thousands of employees are furloughed.
The government has shut down after lawmakers failed to break a deadlock and pass a stopgap spending bill, but one of the most pressing questions for millions of Americans has a simple answer—Social Security checks will keep coming.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) made clear in a contingency plan dated Sept. 24 that retirement, survivor, and disability benefits are not subject to annual budget fights and will continue to be paid on time. These programs are funded through payroll tax revenues and trust funds established under the Social Security Act, which shields them from the effects of a government shutdown.
“Funding for the programs under Titles II, XVI, and XVIII of the Social Security Act will continue, even in the event of a lapse in appropriations,” Tom Holland, the agency’s chief financial officer, wrote in the contingency plan. He said the agency would continue “activities critical to our direct-service operations and those needed to ensure accurate and timely payment of benefits.”
That means the roughly 70 million people who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits will keep getting paid on time, regardless of how long the shutdown lasts, even as large parts of the federal workforce are furloughed.
The agency’s plan cites longstanding legal opinions from the Justice Department that permit continuation of work “by necessary implication” if it is essential to carrying out funded programs.
Because benefit checks are funded, the staff who are needed to process and deliver them will remain on duty, even when annual funding lapses. Roughly 45,600 of the agency’s 51,825 workers will be “excepted” from furlough under such legal carve-outs.
Field Offices Stay Open
For the public, that means most SSA services will remain accessible. People will still be able to apply for benefits online, by phone, or in person at field offices, which remain open during a shutdown.
Claims, appeals, and critical post-entitlement updates such as changes of address or direct deposit information will continue to be processed. Hearings for disability cases will also proceed, with administrative law judges and decision writers deemed essential and exempt from furlough.
Other staff who will continue to work include frontline employees, IT specialists who maintain the agency’s vast computer systems, and fraud prevention teams.
About 6,200 employees, mostly in administrative and support roles not directly linked to payments, will be furloughed without pay until the shutdown ends. Furloughed workers are typically granted back pay once funding is restored, although that requires congressional approval.
Some Services Will Pause
Still, the shutdown is not without effects. The SSA says it is halting work that does not directly affect payments. That includes routine processing of overpayments, Freedom of Information Act requests, replacing Medicare cards, and public outreach.
Non-critical prisoner reporting activities, some quality-review functions, public relations, and staff training will also be suspended until the government reopens.
“We are committed to ensuring that, consistent with the constraints of a partial shutdown, we conform with applicable law, regulation, and guidance, yet continue to serve the American people in these difficult times,” Holland said.
This mirrors past shutdowns. During the Clinton-era lapse and again in 2013, new claims slowed and offices scaled back, but checks continued to arrive. Legal experts have pointed out that a 1996 law and subsequent Justice Department opinions have consistently protected benefit payments from disruption.
By Tom Ozimek
