Will my Social Security be affected by the government shutdown?

The federal government has officially shut down after Congress failed to pass a stopgap funding bill by Tuesday’s deadline.

And one big concern: “Will the government shutdown stop my Social Security benefits?”

The short answer: No, your social security payments should still go out and they should still be on time.

A spokesperson for the Social Security Administration confirmed Wednesday in an email to KQED: Following their September contingency plan, “Social Security beneficiaries would continue receiving their Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, and SSI payments.”

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Almost 6.8 million people in California receive Social Security payments. But unlike social security, some other kinds of benefits and social services will be disrupted during this shutdown — especially if it’s a long one. Read on to learn more about how benefits operate during a government shutdown, and what to watch out for when it comes to receiving your payments.

To be absolutely clear: My Social Security payments will continue during the shutdown?

Yes, your social security payments — including retirement, disability and survivor benefits — will continue to go out.

This is because Social Security is funded by “mandatory spending” — meaning it’s not tied to the kind of annual budget negotiations by Congress that have resulted in this shutdown. Social Security’s funding is already authorized by the Social Security Act, and therefore secured by law.

An exception to this is Supplemental Security Income, which is funded through these annual Congressional budget votes. However, experts have told the New York Times that SSI payments are available through December.

Something else to know: Completely unrelated to the shutdown, on Tuesday the federal government began to phase out paper checks for most government programs, including Social Security, in favor of direct deposits. If the recipient does not have a bank account, they will receive a Direct Express card or — if no other options are available — they can still request a paper check. Nearly 34,000 Californians still rely on check payments.

Will my local Social Security Administration office be open during the shutdown?

Yes: Social Security Administration offices in the Bay Area will still be open during the government shutdown. You can find your local office on Social Security’s website.

While services at these offices will be reduced, you’ll still be able to receive the following services there:

• Apply for benefits
• Request an appeal
• Change your address or direct deposit information
• Report a death
• Verify or change your citizenship status
• Replace a lost or missing Social Security payment
• Obtain a critical payment
• Change a representative payee
• Make a change in your living arrangement or income (SSI recipients only), and
• Obtain a new or replacement Social Security card.

What Social Security-related services will be affected during the shutdown?

According to the Social Security Administration’s shutdown plan, almost 12% of the agency’s staff will be furloughed — that is, not working — during the shutdown. Services that will be disrupted include:

• Benefit verifications
• Earnings record corrections and updates unrelated to the adjudication of benefits
• Payee accountings
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests
• IT enhancement activities, public relations and training
• Replacement Medicare cards
• Overpayments processing

If the shutdown were to continue, another disruption would be to SSA’s ability to calculate cost-of-living adjustment. According to the New York Times, this measurement adjusts payments for price inflation, and SSA is unable to do this without the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is ceasing operations during the shutdown.

What other benefits could be in jeopardy from a shutdown?

The longer the shutdown continues, the more programs could be at risk.

The last U.S. federal government shutdown, during the first Trump administration in 2018, was also the longest in history at 35 days. According to officials working for Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-10), 5 million Californians who are beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could eventually lose access to their funds if another shutdown of this length occurs.

Advocates at the Food Research and Action Center say that SNAP recipients should still receive their October payments, but expressed concern about the timeliness of payments after that.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) — another nutrition program geared toward women, infants and children, which serves more than 972,400 Californians — could also potentially be impacted by a longer shutdown.

This story contains reporting by KQED’s Adhiti Bandlamudi and Carly Severn.