The Social Security Administration (SSA) faces a staffing shortage that hurts hard-working Americans trying to access their earned benefits, but a Senate-passed funding bill wouldn’t help — and one that the House Appropriations Committee passed would only make things worse. The House bill would cut SSA’s administrative budget by 2.5 percent compared to last year, and the Senate’s version would...
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Social Security Lifts 1.7 Million Children Out of Poverty
August 14, 2018
Eighty-three years ago today, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. To mark the occasion, we’ve updated our backgrounder on Social Security, a vital program to which nearly every American contributes and from which nearly every American ultimately benefits....
Happy Birthday, Social Security Disability Insurance!
August 1, 2018
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) turns 62 today and, to mark the occasion, we’ve updated our chart book and backgrounder on this vital program, which provides...
Social Security Disability Insurance Shrinking Even Faster Than Expected
June 21, 2018
As The New York Times reports, the number of applicants for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has fallen even faster since 2015 than the Social Security Administration (SSA) expected. In fact, disability applications and benefit awards have fallen for nearly a decade, even if...
Cash-Strapped Social Security Needs More Funds to Improve Customer Service
June 12, 2018
The House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee may consider this week its 2019 funding bill, which funds the Social Security Administration (SSA) — and, when it does, it needs to continue the recent progress in reversing years of damaging cuts to SSA’s budget.
SSA’s operating budget fell nearly 9 percent between 2010 and 2018, after adjusting for...
Geographic Concentration of Poor Health Explains Most of “Disability Belt”
May 30, 2018
A new Social Security Administration (SSA) study reinforces what research from CBPP and other experts have found: Most geographic variation in the share of residents receiving federal disability benefits stems from variation in the prevalence of disability itself, as well as socioeconomic characteristics. The findings rebut...
Trump Budget Would Hurt Older Americans
February 21, 2018
President Trump’s 2019 budget wouldn’t just hurt people with disabilities, as we’ve explained, but older Americans as well. While running for President, President Trump repeatedly promised not to cut...
President’s Budget Would Hurt People with Disabilities
February 21, 2018
President Trump’s 2019 budget would make it harder for millions of people with disabilities to afford the basics — food on the table, a roof over their heads, and access to health care — by cutting $72 billion over ten years from disability programs, including Social Security Disability Insurance...
Budget Deal Gives Policymakers Another Chance to Fund Social Security Technology Improvements
February 15, 2018
Now that Congress has agreed to raise the caps on discretionary spending in 2018 and 2019, policymakers have another chance to adequately fund technology upgrades that would improve the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) payment accuracy and prevent fraud. The...
Budget Agreement Funding Could Reduce Social Security Disability Backlog
February 15, 2018
The bipartisan agreement to raise the caps on discretionary spending in 2018 and 2019 reportedly calls for higher funding for the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) operating budget, which is starved for resources after years of...