If the federal government shuts down Sunday, numerous publicly funded agencies will stop work and their employees won't be paid, but Social Security checks will still go out.
Social Security is considered a mandatory program, and it isn't funded by the shorter-term appropriations bills passed by Congress and signed by the president. That means its operations and funding don't stop when the government shuts down.
That's important for a large proportion of Americans, as about 67 million people receive monthly Social Security benefits, according to the Social Security Administration. Those benefits go primarily to retirees butalso topeople with disabilities, as well asdependents of deceased beneficiaries.
Medicare and Veterans Affairs benefits also continue to be distributed during a shutdown.
The federal government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday if Congress does not pass a bill to provide more funding. The GOP has a narrow majority in the House, and a group of hard-line conservatives is holding out from the rest of Republicans and demanding deep cuts in government spending.
President Joe Biden and the Democrats, who control the Senate, oppose those cuts.
In the event of a shutdown, "nonessential" actions would stop, and 4 million federal employees would not receive paychecks.
Some, including members of the military, would work without pay and would receive back pay later on, after a new funding bill is passed and signed into law. Other federal employees would be furloughed and would not report to work.
And a shutdown would stop many other federal programs and services. The Biden administration said Monday that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, will stop operating one or two days into a shutdown, although Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said some states might be able to keep their programs running a bit longer than that.
WIC is a program intended to help low-income pregnant and postpartum women, as well as children under age 5, access healthier food. According to the Agriculture Department, more than 6 million people received WIC benefits each month in 2022, including about 39% of all U.S. infants.
A long shutdown could harm the economy, as well. The longest shutdown lasted for 35 days, from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019, and the Congressional Budget Office estimated that it cost the U.S. economy at least $11 billion directly, with indirect costs that were harder to quantify.
A government shutdown should not be confused with a debt ceiling standoff. The U.S. reached its borrowing limit, called the debt ceiling, earlier this year. That standoff could have prevented Social Security checks from going out had it lasted long enough, but after a protracted impasse, congressional Republicans and Democrats agreed on a deal to prevent it.
Marley Jay
Marley Jay is a business news reporter for NBC News Digital.
FAQs
Recipients will continue to receive their Social Security and SSI checks. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will provide limited services like issuing Social Security cards and holding appointments for benefit applications. However, SSA will stop services like benefit verifications and processing overpayments.
Can the government stop paying Social Security benefits? ›
When will Social Security run out? According to the May 2024 Social Security trustees report, the fund reserves that help pay for Social Security benefits will run out in 2035. Without congressional intervention, retirees would then only be able to receive 83% of their full benefits.
Can you lose your Social Security payments? ›
Most people who collect SSDI will receive benefits indefinitely, but some life events can cause the SSA to terminate payments. If you receive disability benefits, you could stop receiving payments for reasons like: Going back to work: The most common reason for SSDI termination is the beneficiary returning to work.
What happens if the government ends Social Security? ›
Reduced Benefits
If no changes are made before the fund runs out, the most likely result will be a reduction in the benefits that are paid out. If the only funds available to Social Security in 2033 are the current wage taxes being paid in, the administration would still be able to pay around 75% of promised benefits.
Will Social Security payments stop if government defaults? ›
Thanks to a law passed by Congress in 1996 (Section 1145, "Protection of Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds"), Social Security checks should keep flowing, even if the U.S. government begins defaulting on its other existing financial obligations.
What can cause Social Security payments to stop? ›
Exit from the SSI program can be due to death, medical recovery, excess income (earned or unearned), excess resources, or a change in living arrangements. In many cases, for instance when dealing with excess income, payments are suspended.
Who will lose Social Security benefits? ›
If you go to jail or prison, your Social Security benefits can be affected. If you're incarcerated for more than 30 days, the administration may suspend your Social Security and SSI benefits.
Can you collect both a government pension and Social Security? ›
You can retire with Social Security and a pension at the same time, but the Social Security Administration (SSA) might reduce your Social Security benefit if your pension is from a job at which you did not pay Social Security taxes on your wages.
What will replace Social Security benefits? ›
In the proposals presented to the Commission, the use of retirement bonds--and annuities based on bond accumulations- would also replace the entire benefit structure of Social Security for the future.
Is there really a $16728 bonus for Social Security? ›
Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.
Social Security income can be taxable no matter how old you are. It all depends on whether your total combined income exceeds a certain level set for your filing status. You may have heard that Social Security income is not taxed after age 70; this is false.
At what age do you get 100% of your Social Security? ›
The full retirement age is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954. The full retirement age increases gradually if you were born from 1955 to 1960 until it reaches 67.
What happens to Social Security if the dollar collapses? ›
Since the trust funds allow the Social Security Administration to pay benefits when program costs exceed tax revenues, benefits would have to be cut once the trust funds were exhausted.
What happens if Social Security runs out of funds? ›
Federal law prohibits Social Security from paying benefits exceeding its available funds. Even if the trust fund runs out in 2035, the program will continue collecting more than $1.6 trillion each year in payroll tax contributions from workers and income taxes on Social Security benefits.
Can the government cut Social Security benefits? ›
To the contrary, the Social Security Administration is prohibited from borrowing, so if it does not have enough money to pay promised benefits in full, it will be forced to cut benefits.
What services are affected by the government shutdown? ›
There are nine federal departments affected by the Trump Shutdown: Homeland Security, Treasury, Agriculture, Interior, HUD, Justice, Commerce, Transportation, and State. In addition, numerous critical smaller independent agencies, including EPA, the Small Business Administration, and NASA, are affected.
Why did I not get my SS check this month? ›
You may be missing a payment because you closed your bank account, for example, or moved. Whatever the case, it's best to call the Social Security Administration to find out what's going on.
When would Social Security run out of money? ›
People leave a Social Security Administration building in Burbank, California. The trust funds the Social Security Administration relies on to pay benefits are now projected to run out in 2035, one year later than previously projected, according to the annual trustees' report released Monday.
