Social Security

The mission of the Social Security Administration is to advance the economic security of the Nation’s people through compassionate and vigilant leadership in shaping and managing ’s

Few government agencies touch the lives of as many people as the Social Security Administration. SSA administers one of the Nation’s largest entitlement programs, the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. Monthly cash benefits are financed through payroll taxes paid by workers through their employers and by self-employed workers. Monthly benefit payments under the OASDI programs are based on an individual’s taxable earnings during his or her lifetime.  

SSA also administers the Supplemental Security Income program which is designed to provide or supplement the income of the aged, blind or disabled adults and children with limited income and resources. SSI payments are financed through general tax revenues.

Over 54 million people receive monthly SSA or SSI benefit payments. Through their tax revenues, 163 million workers are earning valuable Social Security coverage for themselves and their families.

SSA and SSI benefits play a significant role in the improved economic security of the Nation’s people. In 1936, when Social Security Numbers were first assigned to workers, most of the Nation’s elderly lived in poverty. Over the past 30 years, poverty among the elderly has been reduced by 37 percent.   

The poverty level gives an indication of how SSA and SSI benefits are improving the quality of life of the elderly; millions more are protected in the event of disability or death.

Working Americans can count on benefits when they retire if they have qualified by working and paying Social Security taxes for at least ten years over the course of their lifetime. Benefits are also paid to certain members of retired workers’ families and their survivors.  

The basic benefit structure of the Social Security system has remained unchanged in principle since 1939. Monthly benefits related to the worker’s previous earnings are payable to retired and disabled workers, to eligible survivors, and to their families. Benefits based on prior earnings reflect workers’ prior standards of living and the earnings from which they paid Social Security taxes. The level of career average earnings replaced by Social Security benefits varies because the benefit formula is progressive. The proportion of previous earnings that is replaced is greater for lower than for higher earners because lower earners have less ability to save and invest during their careers.

The SSA has provided direct service to the American public at critical stages in their lives. As the Federal agency charge with managing and delivering these programs across the country, SSA’s success is dependent on how well it manages its limited resources to meet the needs of the American people.