What Is the Social Security Administration (SSA)?

What Is the Social Security Administration (SSA)?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is a U.S. government agency that administers social programs covering disability, retirement, and survivors' benefits, among other services. It's also responsible for issuing Social Security numbers and managing the program’s finances and trust fund.

Unlike most U.S. government agencies, the SSA is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland rather than Washington, D.C. The SSA has 10 regional offices, six processing centers, and approximately 1,230 field offices. It employs almost 60,000 workers.

SSA Programs

The SSA administers the Social Security program. Social Security is vital to Americans' retirement income planning, particularly as savings rates for retirement remain low: 3.2% as of March 2024.Almost 68 million Americans, including retired workers, disabled workers, and survivors, will receive Social Security monthly benefits in 2024, according to the SSA. Social Security is one of the largest government programs in the world.

The benefits are funded with payroll taxes paid by employers, employees, and the self-employed. The tax revenue goes into two Social Security trust funds: the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund for retirees and the Disability Insurance Trust Fund (DI) for disability beneficiaries.

The SSA provides a wide range of services in addition to overseeing retirement and disability benefits programs and administering SSI, including enrollment in Parts A and B of the Medicare program. It also issues the Social Security numbers (SSNs) required to access numerous government and private sector services, from credit financing and insurance coverage to hunting licenses.

History of the Social Security Administration

The Social Security Board was created in 1935 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law. The board was responsible for old age insurance, unemployment compensation, and public assistance. The Social Security Board was abolished in 1946 and placed its functions under the newly established Social Security Administration. SSA was part of the Department of Health and Human Services until 1994 when it regained its original status as an independent agency.

In 1963, the old-age, survivors, and disability program functions in the Social Security Administration were solidified and a new Welfare Administration to administer the Children's Bureau, Bureau of Family Services, the Special Staff on Aging, and the Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Development Staff was established. Amendments in 1972 created the Supplementary Security Income (SSI) program. 

As of 2024, the SSA is an independent agency led by Martin O’Malley, who was nominated by President Biden as Commissioner of the Social Security Administration and sworn into office on December 20, 2023. The Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds report on the current and projected financial status of the programs annually.

Social Security Administration: Annual Report

The Boards of Trustees of Social Security issue a report each year on the current and projected financial status of the SSA's programs. The Social Security Board of Trustees project in its 2024 report that Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund (OASI) reserves will be depleted in 2033, unchanged from the 2023 report. Payroll tax receipts will be sufficient to pay just 79% of scheduled benefits in 2033.

According to the 2024 report, the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund is projected to be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits through 2098. Last year's report projected that the DI Trust Fund would be able to pay scheduled benefits through 2097.

The combined OASI Trust Fund and the DI Trust Fund, termed OASDI, are projected to pay 100% of benefits until 2035 when the reserves will be depleted based on the Board of Trustee's 2024 findings. At that point, continuing fund income would cover 83% of benefits.

The Bottom Line

The Social Security Administration manages, administers, and disperses benefits to millions of Americans annually. Understanding the SSA and how it works can help ensure individuals and their families receive the benefits they are entitled to.