What Happens to Social Security Payments If Government Shuts Down

As the possibility of a government shutdown looms, some are questioning what that will mean for Social Security payments.

Fortunately, those are set to continue nationwide regardless of Congress’ next move.

A federal shutdown will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 1 if elected officials do not reach a deal to continue funding the government past Tuesday, Sept. 30. Democrats and Republicans are split over whether to extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

However, social security payments themselves are set to continue even if Congress fails to reach a funding agreement this week because they are considered mandatory spending, meaning the Social Security Act requires the Social Security Administration to pay them. What could be in flux, however, is the SSA’s administrative budget for tangential services.

“While Congress does not set the amount of benefits we pay each year, they decide funding for our administrative budget,” the SSA said on their website.

“Our administrative budget provides resources to administer Social Security and SSI [Supplemental Security Income] programs as well as certain aspects of the Medicare program. It funds salaries and benefits for Federal SSA employees and for State employees at disability determination services offices who make disability determinations for us,” their explanation continued.

Max Richtman, President & CEO of National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare, a nonprofit advocacy group, echoed a similar sentiment: payments themselves will go on, but recipients could experience other disruptions.

“In the event of a government shutdown, Social Security benefits will continue to be paid. The system hasn’t missed a payment in its entire 90-year history and won’t start now,” Richtman said in an online statement. “But customer service at the Social Security Administration may be disrupted, including benefit verifications, earnings record corrections and updates, overpayments processing and replacing Medicare cards.”

“The level of disruption will depend on how many SSA employees the Trump administration deems ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ during the shutdown,” he continued.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A contingency plan published by the SSA earlier this month stated that about 90% of its employees would remain working in the event of a shutdown.  

“We will continue activities critical to our direct-service operations and those needed to ensure accurate and timely payment of benefits,” the plan stated. “We will cease activities not directly related to the accurate and timely payment of benefits or not critical to our direct-service operations.”

Recipients of Supplemental Security Income will be scheduled to receive their next checks on Oct. 1, while Social Security checks will continue to be paid on schedule based on the recipient’s birth date.