This summer’s budget deal between President Trump and congressional leaders offers enough total discretionary dollars to give the Social Security Administration (SSA) a much-needed funding boost in 2020, but the Senate majority plans to...
off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
Social Security: A Vital Protection for African American People of All Ages
July 24, 2019
Social Security is a critical source of income for African American people of all ages and has reduced economic disparities between African American and white families. That’s especially important given recent findings from an Urban Institute study that we commissioned, on...
Trump Poverty Line Proposal Would Hurt Seniors, People With Disabilities
June 12, 2019
The Trump Administration is considering whether to use a lower inflation measure to calculate annual adjustments to the federal poverty line. This approach would ultimately...
SSA Staffing Shortage Hurts Hard-Working Americans
August 29, 2018
Years of SSA cuts have already taken their toll, causing the agency to lose 12 percent of its staff since 2010, close field offices, and shorten office hours, even as it faced record-high workloads.
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...
