How Many Times And By Whom Have Money's Been Taken From The Social Security Fund

The U.S. federal government spends in excess of $4 trillion a twelvemonth, and at the top of the heap is Social Security, the government's largest unmarried expense. Social Security, which provides disability and/or survivors insurance protection to an estimated 175 one thousand thousand workers and divvies out benefits to over 62 million beneficiaries a month, racked up $952.5 billion in expenditures in 2017, according to information from the Social Security Board of Trustees 2018 report.

But where, exactly, did all of this money go? Permit's swoop in for a closer look.

Every bit yous can probably imagine, the single-biggest expenditure for Social Security is scheduled benefits. Almost 99% of its $952.5 billion in expenditures ($941.five billion) went to eligible beneficiaries concluding year. But let'south interruption this $941.v billion effigy downwardly a bit farther, because "beneficiary" tin can have a lot of unlike meanings when information technology comes to Social Security.

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The One-time-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust: $798.7 billion in 2017

The bulk of spending terminal year (almost 85% of scheduled benefits) went to the Old-Historic period and Survivors Trust, or OASI. The OASI is responsible for making do good payments to retired workers, likewise as survivors of eligible workers who are at present deceased. Keep in mind that while retired workers and widows/widowers are going to make upward the majority of benefit payments in the old and latter categories, there are auxiliary payments being made to spouses and children who may qualify for a benefit based on a retired worker'southward earnings history.

With this in mind, let'due south pause this down a bit more. (Please notation these figures may not perfectly add up due to rounding.)

In total, retired workers and auxiliaries were paid $680.ii billion last year, including:

• $644.2 billion direct to retired workers (this represents 67.6% of all program expenditures terminal twelvemonth)
• $30.v billion to the spouses of retired workers
• $5.6 billion to the younger children of retired workers

As for survivors, they collected $118.iii billion in benefits in 2017. This includes:

• $94.3 billion to the aged widows or widowers of a deceased worker
• $2.4 billon to disabled widows or widowers
• $20 billion to the children of deceased workers
• $ane.5 billion for widowed mothers and fathers who are caring for child beneficiaries
• $xx million to the parents of deceased workers

The OASI besides factors in the lump-sum death do good of $255 that tin can be paid out to a surviving spouse or qualifying kid of a deceased worker. Last year, $210 million in lump-sum death benefits were disbursed by the Social Security Administration.

This covers the OASI's expenditures. Let's motility over to the Disability Insurance Trust, or DI.

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The Disability Insurance Trust: $142.7 billion in 2017

As the proper noun implies, the DI provides monthly benefit checks to those who are long-term disabled, besides as auxiliaries who may authorize for a benefit based on the primary disabled worker. Final yr, $142.seven billion, or just over 15% of scheduled benefits, was the result of DI payouts.

Every bit you'd look, when broken downwards further, an overwhelming majority of disability payments went direct to disabled workers. However, the children of these workers, and to a far lesser extent the spouses of these disabled workers, also received their share.

• $133.nine billion directly to disabled workers
• $viii.three billion to the children of a disabled worker
• $0.6 billion to the spouses of a disabled worker

If we add together the DI and OASI together, we've deemed for all only $xi billion in program expenditures in 2017. Let'south at present take a closer look at where this smaller amount of spending went.

Administrative expenses: $half dozen.v billion in 2017

Of the remainder, $vi.5 billion went to cover the Social Security Assistants's (SSA) administrative expenses. Think about the price of employing thousands of Social Security workers, paying rent on SSA buildings, electricity costs, and practically whatever other bill you'd encounter while running offices across the country. That'due south what's included in this $half-dozen.5 billion effigy.

What'due south perchance a flake maddening about this figure is that lawmakers seem to be more focused on reducing administrative expenses, which make up far less than i% of total almanac programme costs, than on finding a real-globe solution to the Trustees' estimated $13.2 trillion cash shortfall looming between 2034 and 2092.

Epitome source: Getty Images.

Railroad Retirement financial interchange: $4.five billion in 2017

Final but not least, $four.five billion was disbursed to the Railroad Retirement financial interchange last year.

During the 1930s, lawmakers in Congress fix a national retirement organization for railroad workers and their families since railroad-sponsored pensions were mostly failing to meet their cease of the deal. In 1951, a fiscal interchange was created by Congress (retroactive to 1937) between the Railroad Retirement and Social Security by alteration the Railroad Retirement Human action. As defined past the SSA:

The interchange was designed to allow the Social Security Trust Funds to operate as if railroad employees were covered nether Social Security rather than their own organisation. The interchange provided Social Security with the tax revenues that would otherwise exist nerveless direct from railroad workers, while Social Security provided to RRB [Railroad Retirement Board] the funds that would otherwise be paid straight to railroad beneficiaries.

Though the figures can adjust from twelvemonth to year, this is a comprehensive breakdown of where every Social Security dollar leaving its ii Trusts winds up.

Source: https://www.fool.com/retirement/2018/09/05/a-complete-breakdown-of-how-social-security-spends.aspx

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