SSA serves over 70 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries each month. The law (Social Security Act) requires us to pay benefits for these programs. These payments are part of the federal government’s mandatory spending.
While Congress does not set the amount of benefits we pay each year, they decide funding for our administrative budget. Our administrative budget provides resources to administer the Social Security and SSI 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 (DDS) offices who make disability determinations for us. In addition, our administrative budget pays for other expenses, such as rent for our field offices across the country, our National 800 Number, and information technology costs. Each year, we must submit budget requests to Congress that justify our funding needs for the following year.
FY 2027 Budget Request
Highlights of the President’s Budget for SSA
The Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees informs members of Congress about SSA’s funding request, including how it will support performance goals and initiatives to improve service. For specific sections, please see the following:
- Budget Overview - The Overview provides a summary of SSA’s budget request, including funding and performance highlights.
Technical Materials supporting SSA’s budget request:
- Budget Summary Table and Other Key Tables
- Payments to the Social Security Trust Funds
- Supplemental Security Income Program
- Limitation on Administrative Expenses
- Office of the Inspector General
- Annual Performance Plan
- Good Accounting Obligation in Government Act Report
Operating Plan
The SSA Operating Plan provides the final enacted funding levels for the year and the associated performance goals SSA plans to complete with this funding.
SSA Operating Plan
All historical documents are in Portable Document Format (PDF). You must have the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view these files.