1997 OASDI Trustees Report

During fiscal year 1996, total receipts amounted to $356.8 billion, and total disbursements were $305.3 billion. The assets of the OASI Trust Fund thus increased by $51.5 billion during the year, to a total of $499.5 billion on September 30, 1996.

Included in total receipts during fiscal year 1996 were $318.3 billion in payroll tax contributions appropriated to the fund. These contributions were offset by transfers totaling $1.4 billion to the general fund of the Treasury for the estimated amount of refunds to employees who worked for more than one employer during a year and paid contributions in excess of the contribution and benefit base. In addition, $0.3 billion was received from the general fund of the Treasury representing payment for the taxes that would have been paid on estimated deemed wage credits for military service in 1996 if such credits had been considered to be covered wages. (Included in this payment are adjustments for revised estimates of deemed wage credits in prior years.)

Payroll tax contributions thus amounted to $317.2 billion, an increase of 9.5 percent over the amount in the preceding year. As described in last year's report, the reallocation of the OASDI tax rate under Public Law 103-387 resulted in a large, retroactive transfer of taxes from the OASI Trust Fund to the DI Trust Fund in fiscal year 1995. The large increase in OASI tax contributions from fiscal year 1995 to fiscal year 1996 is due primarily to the lower level of fiscal year 1995 taxes that resulted from this retroactive transfer. (The retroactive transfer also resulted in higher taxes reported for the DI Trust Fund in fiscal year 1995 and hence a relative decrease in taxes in fiscal year 1996 for this fund, as discussed in the next section.) The combined payroll tax contributions to OASDI increased by 4.5 percent in fiscal year 1996 due to increased earnings and the increases in the contribution and benefit base that became effective on January 1 of each year 1995 and 1996. (Table II.B1 in the preceding section shows the tax rates and contribution and benefit bases in effect for these years.)

Income from taxation of benefits amounted to $5.8 billion, of which nearly 97 percent represented amounts credited to the trust funds in advance, on an estimated basis, together with adjustments to 1993 transfers to account for actual experience. The remaining 3 percent of the total income from taxation of benefits represented amounts withheld from the benefits paid to nonresident aliens. ^1/

Special payments are made to uninsured persons who either attained age 72 before 1968, or who attained age 72 after 1967 and had 3 quarters of coverage for each year after 1966 and before the year of attainment of age 72. The costs associated with providing such payments to persons having fewer than 3 quarters of coverage are reimbursable from the general fund of the Treasury. Accordingly, a reimbursement of $4,541,000 was transferred to the OASI Trust Fund in fiscal year 1996, as required by section 228 of the Social Security Act. The reimbursement reflected the costs of payments made in fiscal year 1994.

Section 217(g) of the Social Security Act requires transfers between the general fund of the Treasury and the OASI and DI Trust Funds for any adjustments to prior payments for the cost arising from the granting of noncontributory wage credits for military service prior to 1957. Determinations of such transfers are required in 1985 and every fifth year thereafter. As a result of the 1995 determination, $0.1 billion was transferred to the general fund from the OASI Trust Fund in December 1995.

The OASI Trust Fund was credited with interest totaling $34.0 billion which consisted of (1) interest earned on the investments of the trust fund, plus (2) interest on transfers between the trust fund and the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program due to adjustments in the allocation of administrative expenses, less (3) interest arising from the revised allocation of administrative expenses among the trust funds, and less (4) interest transferred to the general fund because Supplementary Medical Insurance premiums were deducted from benefit payments at a later than normal date in certain months.

The remaining $57,872 of receipts consisted of gifts received under the provisions authorizing the deposit of money gifts or bequests in the trust funds.

Table II.C1.­ Statement of Operations of the OASI Trust Fund During Fiscal Year 1996

[In thousands]
Total assets, September 30, 1995					$447,945,843
Receipts:
	Contributions:
		Employment taxes		$318,296,719
		Payments from general fund of the Treasury for:
			Contributions subject to refund	-1,402,880
			Employee-employer contributions on deemed wage credits for military service	262,852
			Net contributions		317,156,691
	Income from taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		176,868
		All other, not subject to withholding		5,608,000
			Total income from taxation of benefits		5,784,868
	Reimbursement from general fund of the Treasury for costs of payments to uninsured persons who attained age 72 before 1968				4,541
	Transfer from general fund of the Treasury to adjust previous determinations of costs attributable to noncontributory wage credits for military service before 1957				-129,000
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		34,032,674
		Interest on transfers to the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program due to adjustment in allocation of administrative expenses		3,746
		Interest on interfund transfers due to adjustment in allocation of administrative expenses		-255
		Interest adjustment on late Supplementary Medical Insurance premium deductions		-9,909
			Net investment income and interest adjustments		34,026,256
	Gifts				58
Total receipts					356,843,413
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Gross benefit payments		300,916,852
		Offset for collected overpayments		-896,914
		Reimbursement from general fund for unnegotiated checks		-51,494
			Net benefit payments		299,968,444
	Transfer to the Railroad Retirement "Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account"				3,554,053
	Administrative expenses:
		Social Security Administration		1,585,728
		Department of the Treasury		204,829
		Reimbursement from general fund of the Treasury for costs of furnishing information on defferred vested pension benefits		-775
		Offsetting receipts from sales of supplies, materials, etc.		-337
		Reimbursement from general fund of the Treasury for costs of furnishing information related to the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992		-1,352
			Net administrative expenses		1,788,093
Total disbursements					305,310,590
Net increase in assets					51,532,823
Total assets, September 30, 1996					499,478,666
Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

Of the $305.3 billion in total disbursements, $300.0 billion was for net benefit payments. The amount of net benefit payments in fiscal year 1996 represents an increase of 3.9 percent over the corresponding amount in fiscal year 1995. This increase was due primarily to (1) the automatic cost-of-living benefit increases of 2.8 percent and 2.6 percent which became effective for December 1994 and December 1995 respectively, under the automatic-adjustment provisions in section 215(i) of the Social Security Act, (2) an increase in the total number of beneficiaries, and (3) an increase in the average benefit amount resulting from the rising level of earnings.

As described in the preceding section, certain provisions of the Railroad Retirement Act coordinate the Railroad Retirement and OASDI programs and govern the financial interchanges arising from the allocation of costs between the two programs. Under those provisions, the Railroad Retirement Board and the Commissioner of Social Security determined that a transfer of $3.6 billion to the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account from the OASI Trust Fund was required in June 1996.

The remaining $1.8 billion of disbursements from the OASI Trust Fund represented net administrative expenses. The expenses of administering the OASDI and Medicare programs are allocated and charged directly to each of the various trust funds, through which those programs are financed, on the basis of provisional estimates. Similarly, the expenses of administering the Supplemental Security Income program are also allocated and charged directly to the general fund of the Treasury on a provisional basis. Periodically, as actual experience develops and is analyzed, adjustments to the allocations of administrative expenses for prior periods are effected by interfund transfers and transfers between the OASI Trust Fund and the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program, with appropriate interest adjustments.

Section 1131 of the Social Security Act authorizes annual reimbursements from the general fund of the Treasury to the OASI Trust Fund for additional administrative expenses incurred as a result of furnishing information on deferred vested benefits to pension plan participants, as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-406). The reimbursement in fiscal year 1996 amounted to $774,703.

The OASI Trust Fund was reimbursed $1,351,739 for expenses of providing certain information required by the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992 (part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, Public Law 102-486). While such reimbursements have occurred in past fiscal years, they were not separately identified.

The assets of the OASI Trust Fund at the end of fiscal year 1996 totaled $499.5 billion, consisting of $499.4 billion in U.S. Government obligations and an undisbursed balance amounting to $0.1 billion. Table II.C2 shows the total assets of the fund and their distribution at the end of each fiscal year 1995 and 1996.

Table II.C2.­ Assets of the OASI Trust Fund, by Type, Interest Rate, and Year of Maturity, at End of Fiscal Year, 1995 and 1996

---

	September 30, 1995	September 30, 1996
Obligations sold only to the trust funds (special issues):
Certificates of indebtedness:
6.5 percent, 1996	$19,461,468,000.00	-
7.125 percent, 1997	-	$21,998,798,000.00
Bonds:
6.25 percent, 1997	3,150,975,000.00	-
6.25 percent, 1998-2006	28,358,775,000.00	28,358,775,000.00
6.25 percent, 2007	3,150,974,000.00	3,150,974,000.00
6.25 percent, 2008	23,350,034,000.00	23,350,034,000.00
6.5 percent,1997	2,431,253,000.00	-
6.5 percent,1998	2,431,253,000.00	2,431,253,000.00
6.5 percent, 1999-2009	26,743,794,000.00	26,743,794,000.00
6.5 percent, 2010	29,742,844,000.00	29,742,844,000.00
7 percent,1998-2003	-	20,228,886,000.00
7 percent, 2004-10	-	23,600,360,000.00
7 percent, 2011	-	33,114,324,000.00
7.25 percent, 1997	3,961,557,000.00	-
7.25 percent, 1998	3,961,557,000.00	3,961,557,000.00
7.25 percent, 1999-2006	31,692,448,000.00	31,692,448,000.00
7.25 percent, 2007-08	7,923,114,000.00	7,923,114,000.00
7.25 percent, 2009	27,311,591,000.00	27,311,591,000.00
7.375 percent, 1997	3,575,473,000.00	-
7.375 percent, 1998-2000	10,726,419,000.00	10,726,419,000.00
7.375 percent, 2001-06	21,452,844,000.00	21,452,844,000.00
7.375 percent, 2007	20,199,060,000.00	20,199,060,000.00
8.125 percent, 1997	3,611,349,000.00	791,653,000.00
8.125 percent, 1998-2000	10,834,047,000.00	10,834,047,000.00
8.125 percent, 2001-05	18,056,740,000.00	18,056,740,000.00
8.125 percent, 2006	16,623,586,000.00	16,623,586,000.00
8.375 percent, 1997-2000	1,253,180,000.00	1,253,180,000.00
8.375 percent, 2001	2,370,396,000.00	2,370,396,000.00
8.625 percent, 1996	688,163,000.00	-
8.625 percent, 1997-2001	6,508,655,000.00	6,508,655,000.00
8.625 percent, 2002	3,672,127,000.00	3,672,127,000.00
8.75 percent, 1996	7,099,802,000.00	-
8.75 percent, 1997-2000	28,399,208,000.00	28,399,208,000.00
8.75 percent, 2001-03	21,299,409,000.00	21,299,409,000.00
8.75 percent, 2004-05	26,024,476,000.00	26,024,476,000.00
9.25 percent, 1996	2,240,309,000.00	-
9.25 percent, 1997-2000	8,961,236,000.00	8,961,236,000.00
9.25 percent, 2001-02	4,480,616,000.00	4,480,616,000.00
9.25 percent, 2003	5,912,435,000.00	5,912,435,000.00
10.375 percent, 1996	565,186,000.00	-
10.375 percent, 1997-99	1,695,558,000.00	1,695,558,000.00
10.375 percent, 2000	2,057,101,000.00	2,057,101,000.00
10.75 percent, 1996	1,022,231,000.00	-
10.75 percent, 1997-98	2,044,460,000.00	2,044,460,000.00
13.75 percent, 1996	469,684,000.00	-
13.75 percent, 1997-98	939,370,000.00	939,370,000.00
13.75 percent, 1999	1,491,915,000.00	1,491,915,000.00
Total investments	447,946.672,000.00	499,403,243,000.00
Undisbursed balances 1/	-829,068.06	75,422,981.75
Total assets	447,945,842,931.94	499,478,665,981.75
1The negative figure for September 30, 1995, represents extension of credit against securities to be redeemed within the following few days. Note: Special issues are always purchased at par value. Therefore, book value and par value are the same for each special issue, and the common value is shown above. Where the maturity years are grouped, the amount maturing in each year is the amount shown divided by the number of years.

All securities held by the trust funds are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. Those currently held by the OASI Trust Fund are special issues (i.e., securities sold only to the trust funds). These are of two types: short-term certificates of indebtedness and long-term bonds. The certificates of indebtedness are issued through the investment of receipts not required to meet current expenditures, and they mature on the next June 30 following the date of issue. Special-issue bonds, on the other hand, are normally acquired only when special issues of either type mature on June 30. The amount of bonds acquired on June 30 is equal to the amount of special issues maturing, less amounts required to meet expenditures on that day.

The effective annual rate of interest earned by the assets of the OASI Trust Fund during calendar year 1996 was 7.7 percent, as compared to 7.9 percent earned during calendar year 1995. The interest rate on special issues purchased by the trust fund in June 1996 was 7.0 percent, payable semiannually. Special-issue bonds with a total par value of $80.3 billion were purchased in June 1996.

Section 201(d) of the Social Security Act provides that the public-debt obligations issued for purchase by the OASI and DI Trust Funds shall have maturities fixed with due regard for the needs of the funds. The usual practice has been to spread the holdings of special issues, as of each June 30, so that the amounts maturing in each of the next 15 years are approximately equal. Accordingly, the amounts and maturity dates of the OASI special-issue bonds purchased on June 30, 1996, were selected in such a way that the maturity dates of the total portfolio of special issues were spread evenly over the 15-year period 1997-2011.

2. Disability Insurance Trust Fund

During fiscal year 1996, total receipts amounted to $59.2 billion, and total disbursements were $44.3 billion. The assets of the trust fund thus increased by $14.9 billion during the year, to a total of $50.1 billion on September 30, 1996.

Included in total receipts were $56.8 billion representing payroll tax contributions appropriated to the fund. These contributions were offset by transfers totaling $0.3 billion to the general fund of the Treasury for the estimated amount of refunds to employees who worked for more than one employer during a year and paid contributions in excess of the contribution and benefit base. In addition, $46,541,000 was received from the general fund of the Treasury representing taxes that would have been paid on estimated deemed wage credits for military service in 1996 if such credits had been considered to be covered wages.

Total contributions amounted to $56.6 billion, a decrease of 16.8 percent from the amount in the preceding fiscal year. This decrease is primarily attributable to the reallocation of the OASDI tax rate that accounted for the increase in contributions to the OASI Trust Fund in fiscal year 1996. Income from the taxation of benefit payments amounted to $0.4 billion in fiscal year 1996.

As described in the preceding subsection, a determination was required in 1990 to adjust prior payments from the general fund of the Treasury for the costs arising from the granting of noncontributory wage credits for military service prior to 1957. Accordingly, a transfer of $0.2 billion to the general fund from the DI Trust Fund was made in December 1995.

Interest totaling $2.5 billion consisted of interest on the investments of the fund and interest on amounts of interfund transfers.

Of the $44.3 billion in total disbursements, $43.2 billion was for net benefit payments. This represents an increase of 7.6 percent over the corresponding amount of benefit payments in fiscal year 1995. This increase is due in part to the same factors that resulted in the net increase in benefit payments from the OASI Trust Fund.

Table II.C3.­ Statement of Operations of the DI Trust Fund During Fiscal Year 1996

[In thousands]
Total assets, September 30, 1995					$35,205,910
Receipts:
	Contributions:
		Employment taxes		$56,783,385
		Payments from general fund of the Treasury for:
			Contributions subject to refund	-258,720
			Employee-employer contributions on deemed wage credits for military service	46,541
			Net contributions		56,571,206
	Income from taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		8,435
		All other, not subject to withholding		362,000
			Total income from taxation of benefits		370,435
	Transfer from general fund of the Treasury to adjust previous determinations of costs attributable to noncontributory wage credits for military service before 1957				-203,000
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		2,482,316
		Interest on interfund transfers due to adjustment in allocation of administrative expenses		-125
		Net interest adjustments on disbursement of funds to certain State Disability Determination Services		378
		Interest adjustment on late Supplementary Medical Insurance premium deductions		-779
			Net investment income and interest adjustments		2,481,790
Total receipts					59,220,431
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Gross benefit payments		43,432,063
		Offset for collected overpayments		-181,400
		Reimbursement from general fund for unnegotiated checks		-16,124
			Net benefit payments		43,234,538
	Transfer to the Railroad Retirement "Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account"				2,201
	Payment for costs of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries				31,944
	Administrative expenses:
		Social Security Administration		1,033,558
		Department of the Treasury		41,292
		Demonstration projects and experiments		293
		Reimbursement from general fund of the Treasury for costs of furnishing information related to the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992		-824
			Net administrative expenses		1,074,320
Total disbursements					44,343,003
Net increase in assets					14,877,428
Total assets, September 30, 1996					50,083,338
Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

Provisions governing the financial interchanges between the Railroad Retirement and OASDI programs are described in the preceding section. Under those provisions, $2,201,000 was transferred to the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account from the DI Trust Fund in June 1996.

The remaining disbursements amounted to $1.1 billion for net administrative expenses (including $292,903 for demonstration projects and experiments to test the effect of alternative methods for assisting disabled beneficiaries' attempts to work), and $31,944,323 for the costs of vocational rehabilitation services furnished to disabled-worker beneficiaries and to those children of disabled workers who were receiving benefits on the basis of disabilities that began before age 22. Reimbursement from the trust funds for the costs of such services is made only in those cases where the services contributed to the successful rehabilitation of the beneficiaries.

The assets of the DI Trust Fund at the end of fiscal year 1996 totaled $50.1 billion, consisting of $50.1 billion in U.S. Government obligations and, as an offset, an extension of credit amounting to $16,505,921. Table II.C4 shows the total assets of the fund and their distribution at the end of each fiscal year 1995 and 1996.

The effective annual rate of interest earned by the assets of the DI Trust Fund during calendar year 1996 was 6.9 percent, as compared to 7.4 percent earned during calendar year 1995. The interest rate on public-debt obligations issued for purchase by the trust fund in June 1996 was 7.0 percent, payable semiannually. Special-issue bonds with a total par value of $17.6 billion were purchased in June 1996. The usual practice of spreading the holdings of special issues, as described earlier, was not followed. The amounts and maturity dates of the DI special-issue bonds purchased on June 30, 1996, were selected in such a way that the maturity dates of the total portfolio of special issues were spread over the 13-year period 1997-2009.

The investment policies and practices described for the OASI Trust Fund apply as well to the investment of the assets of the DI Trust Fund.

Table II.C4.­ Assets of the DI Trust Fund, by Type, Interest Rate, and Year of Maturity, at End of Fiscal Year, 1995 and 1996

---

				September 30, 1995	September 30, 1996
Investments in public-debt obligations:
	Public issues:
		Treasury bonds:
			3.5 percent, 1998	$5,000,000.00	$5,000,000.00
			8 percent, 1996-2001	10,000,000.00	10,000,000.00
			7.625 percent, 2002-07	26,000,000.00	-
			8.25 percent, 2000-05	3,750,000.00	3,750,000.00
			11.75 percent, 2005-10	30,250,000.00	30,250,000.00
		Total investments in public issues at par value, as shown above		75,000,000.00	49,000,000.00
		Unamortized premium or discount, net		-266,055.79	-129,493.69
		Total investments in public issues at book value		74,733,944.21	48,870,506.31
	Obligations sold only to the trust funds (special issues):
		Certificates of indebtedness:
			6.5 percent, 1996	3,676,519,000.00	-
			6.625 percent, 1996	1,468,926,000.00	-
			7.125 percent, 1997	-	5,107,600,000.00
		Bonds:
			6.5 percent, 1997	1,623,850,000.00	-
			6.5 percent, 1998-2007	21,476,590,000.00	21,476,590,000.00
			6.5 percent, 2008	3,064,120,000.00	3,064,120,000.00
			7 percent, 1997	-	104,415,000.00
			7 percent, 1998	-	1,116,150,000.00
			7 percent, 1999-2008	-	11,161,510,000.00
			7 percent, 2009	-	4,180,271,000.00
			7.375 percent, 2004-06	142,803,000.00	142,803,000.00
			7.375 percent, 2007	916,460,000.00	916,460,000.00
			8.125 percent, 2004-05	300,322,000.00	300,322,000.00
			8.125 percent, 2006	868,859,000.00	868,859,000.00
			8.75 percent, 2003	174,477,000.00	174,477,000.00
			8.75 percent, 2004-05	1,437,396,000.00	1,437,396,000.00
		Total obligations sold only to the trust funds (special issues)		35,150,322,000.00	50,050,973,000.00
Total investments in public-debt obligations (book value1/)				35,225,055,944.21	50,099,843,506.31
Undisbursed balances 2/				-19,146,366.11	-16,505,920.98
Total assets (book value 1/)				35,205,909,578.10	50,083,337,585.33
1 Par value, plus unamortized premium or less discount outstanding. 2 Negative figures represent extension of credit against securities to be redeemed within the following few days. Note: Special issues are always purchased at par value. Therefore, book value and par value are the same for each special issue, and the common value is shown above. Where the maturity years are grouped for special issues, the amount maturing in each year is the amount shown divided by the number of years.

3. Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability
Insurance Trust Funds, Combined

Table II.C5.­ Statement of Operations of the OASI and DI Trust Funds,
Combined, During Fiscal Year 1996

[In thousands]
Total assets, September 30, 1995					$483,151,753
Receipts:
	Contributions:
		Employment taxes		$375,080,104
		Payments from general fund of the Treasury for:
			Contributions subject to refund	-1,661,600
			Employee-employer contributions on deemed wage credits for military service	309,393
			Net contributions		373,727,897
	Income from taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		185,302
		All other, not subject to withholding		5,970,000
			Total income from taxation of benefits		6,155,302
	Reimbursement from general fund of the Treasury for costs of payments to uninsured persons who attained age 72 before 1968				4,541
	Transfer from general fund of the Treasury to adjust previous determinations of costs attributable to noncontributory wage credits for military service before 1957				-332,000
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		36,514,989
		Interest on transfers to the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program due to adjustment in allocation of administrative expenses		3,746
		Interest on interfund transfers due to adjustment in allocation of administrative expenses		-380
		Interest adjustment on late Supplementary Medical Insurance premium deductions		-10,688
		Net interest adjustments on disbursement of funds to certain State Disability Determination Services		378
			Net investment income and interest adjustments		36,508,046
	Gifts				58
Total receipts					416,063,844
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Gross benefit payments		344,348,915
		Offset for collected overpayments		-1,078,314
		Reimbursement from general fund for unnegotiated checks		-67,618
			Net benefit payments		343,202,982
	Transfer to the Railroad Retirement "Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account"				3,556,254
	Payment for costs of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries				31,944
	Administrative expenses:
		Social Security Administration		2,619,286
		Department of the Treasury		246,121
		Reimbursement from general fund of the Treasury for costs of furnishing information on defferred vested pension benefits		-775
		Offsetting receipts from sales of supplies, materials, etc.		-337
		Reimbursement from general fund of the Treasury for costs of furnishing information related to the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1992		-2,175
		Demonstration projects and experiments		293
			Net administrative expenses		2,862,413
Total disbursements					349,653,593
Net increase in assets					66,410,251
Total assets, September 30, 1996					549,562,004
Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

Table II.C6 compares past estimates of contributions and benefit payments for fiscal year 1996, as shown in the 1992-96 Annual Reports, with the corresponding actual amounts in 1996. The estimates shown are the ones based on the alternative II assumptions.

A number of factors can contribute to differences between estimates and subsequent actual amounts, including actual values for key economic, demographic, and other variables that differ from assumed levels. In addition, amendments to the Social Security Act can cause actual taxes or benefits to vary from earlier estimates. For example, the reallocation of the OASDI tax rate, enacted in October 1994, makes comparison of tax estimates in the 1992-94 Annual Reports with actual taxes in fiscal year 1996 meaningless for OASI and DI taken separately. The comparisons in table II.C6 indicate that combined actual OASI and DI tax contributions in fiscal year 1996 were lower than estimates in the 1992 report (due primarily to lower than expected inflation). Estimates of OASI benefit payments were generally close to actual payments in 1996. The actual amount of DI benefit payments in 1996, however, was significantly above estimates in the 1992 report, due to faster-than-expected growth in the number of disabled workers.

Table II.C6.­ Comparison of Actual and Estimated Operations of the OASI and DI Trust Funds, Fiscal Year 1996 [Amounts in millions]
	Net contributions 1/			Benefit payments 2/
	Amount	Difference from actual (percent)		Amount	Difference from actual (percent)
OASI Trust Fund:
Estimate in 1992 report	$351,646	10.9		$309,621	3.2
Estimate in 1993 report	347,068	9.4		305,934	2.0
Estimate in 1994 report	341,942	7.8		304,843	1.6
Estimate in 1995 report	323,411	2.0		301,825	0.6
Estimate in 1996 report	317,201	(3/)		300,454	0.2
Actual amount	317,157	-		299,968	-
DI Trust Fund:
Estimate in 1992 report	37,675	-33.4		41,125	-4.9
Estimate in 1993 report	37,186	-34.3		44,419	2.7
Estimate in 1994 report	36,636	-35.2		44,740	3.4
Estimate in 1995 report	57,796	2.2		44,225	2.2
Estimate in 1996 report	56,696	0.2		43,324	0.1
Actual amount	56,571	-		43,266	-
OASI and DI Trust Funds, combined:
Estimate in 1992 report	389,321	4.2		350,745	2.2
Estimate in 1993 report	389,254	2.8		350,353	2.1
Estimate in 1994 report	378,578	1.3		349,583	1.8
Estimate in 1995 report	381,207	2.0		346,050	0.8
Estimate in 1996 report	373,897	(3/)		343,778	0.2
Actual amount	373,728	-		343,235	-
1 "Actual" contributions for 1996 reflect adjustments for prior fiscal years (see preceding section for description of these adjustments). "Estimated" contributions also include such adjustments, but on an estimated basis. 2 Includes payments, if any, for vocational rehabilitation services furnished to disabled persons receiving benefits because of their disabilities. 3 Less than 0.05 percent.

At the end of fiscal year 1996, about 43.6 million persons were receiving monthly benefits under the OASDI program. Of these persons, about 37.6 million and 6.0 million were receiving monthly benefits from the OASI Trust Fund and the DI Trust Fund, respectively. The number of persons receiving benefits from the OASI and DI Trust Funds grew by 0.4 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively, during the fiscal year. The estimated distribution of benefit payments in fiscal years 1995 and 1996, by type of beneficiary, is shown in table II.C7 for each trust fund separately.

Table II.C7.­ Estimated Distribution of Benefit Payments From the OASI and DI Trust Funds, by Type of Beneficiary or Payment, Fiscal Years 1995 and 1996 [Amounts in millions]
				Fiscal year 1995			Fiscal year 1996
				Amount	Percentage of total		Amount	Percentage of total
Total OASDI benefit payments				$328,802	100.0		$343,203	100.0
	OASI benefit payments			288,607	87.8		299,968	87.4
	DI benefit payments			40,195	12.2		43,235	12.6
OASI benefit payments, total				288,607	100.0		299,968	100.0
	Monthly benefits:
		Retired workers and auxiliaries		222,052	76.9		230,677	76.9
			Retired workers	203,122	70.4		211,280	70.4
			Wives and husbands	17,234	6.0		17,619	5.9
			Children	1,696	0.6		1,777	0.6
		Survivors of deceased workers		66,332	23.0		69,072	23.0
			Aged widows and widowers	53,128	18.4		55,375	18.5
			Disabled widows and widowers	985	0.3		1,065	0.4
			Parents	33	(1/)		31	(1/)
			Children	10,614	3.7		11,094	3.7
			Widowed mothers and fathers caring for child beneficiaries	1,572	0.5		1,507	0.5
		Uninsured persons generally aged 72 before 1968		3	(1/)		2	(1/)
	Lump-sum death payments			220	0.1		218	0.1
DI benefit payments, total				40,195	100.0		43,235	100.0
		Disabled workers		35,964	89.5		38,759	89.6
		Wives and husbands		579	1.4		530	1.2
		Children		3,652	9.1		3,946	9.1
1Less than 0.05 percent. Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

Net administrative expenses charged to the OASI and DI Trust Funds in fiscal year 1996 totaled $2.9 billion. This amount represented 0.8 percent of contribution income and 0.8 percent of expenditures for benefit payments. Corresponding percentages for each trust fund separately and for the OASDI program as a whole are shown in table II.C8 for each of the last 5 years.

Table II.C8.­ Net Administrative Expenses as a Percentage of Contribution Income and of Benefit Payments, by Trust Fund, Fiscal Years 1992-96
Fiscal year	OASI Trust Fund			DI Trust Fund			OASI and DI Trust Funds, combined
	Contribution income	Benefit payments		Contribution income	Benefit payments		Contribution income	Benefit payments
1992	0.7	0.7		2.8	2.8		0.9	0.9
1993	.7	.8		3.0	2.8		.9	1.0
1994	.6	.7		3.1	2.8		.8	.9
1995	.6	.6		1.6	2.7		.8	.9
1996	.6	.6		1.9	2.5		.8	.8

Tables II.C2 and II.C4, presented in the two preceding subsections, showed the assets of the OASI and DI Trust Funds at the end of fiscal years 1995 and 1996. The changes in the invested assets of the funds between those two dates are a result of the acquisition and disposition of securities during fiscal year 1996. Table II.C9 presents these investment transactions for each trust fund separately and combined. All amounts shown in the table are at par value.

Table II.C9.­ Investment Transactions of the OASI and DI Trust Funds in Fiscal Year 1996 [In thousands]
	OASI Trust Fund	DI Trust Fund	OASI and DI Trust Funds, combined
Invested assets, September 30, 1995	$447,946,672	$35,225,322	$483,171,994
Acquisitions:
Special issues:
Certificates of indebtedness	342,204,257	58,405,096	400,609,353
Bonds	80,315,051	17,574,081	97,889,132
Public issues:
Treasury bonds	-	-	-
Total acquisitions	422,519,308	75,979,177	498,498,485
Dispositions:
Special issues:
Certificates of indebtedness	339,666,927	58,442,941	398,109,868
Bonds	31,395,810	2,635,585	34,031,395
Public issues:
Treasury bonds	-	26,000	26,000
Treasury dispositions	371,062,737	61,104,526	432,167,263
Net increase in invested assets	51,456,571	14,874,651	66,331,222
Invested assets, September 30, 1996	499,403,243	50,099,973	549,503,216
Note: All investments are shown at par value.