2017 Annual Report of the SSI Program

E. The SSI Program’s Share of SSA’S Administrative Costs
and Beneficiary Services Costs

SSA administers the SSI program, but unlike the OASDI program, general revenues fund the SSI program. When the SSI program began in 1972, the agency's existing field office network and its automated data processing capabilities made it uniquely qualified to administer the program. Because the administration of the SSI and OASDI programs is integrated, it is more practical to fund them from a single source. The trust funds and the general fund pay their appropriate share of administrative expenses into SSA's Limitation on Administrative Expenses account, which funds the total operating expenses of the agency.¹ A Government Accountability Office approved method of cost analysis is used to determine the appropriate share of administrative expenses borne by each funding source, and a final settlement of costs is made by the end of the subsequent fiscal year.

The SSI program also provides beneficiary services to recipients through State VR agencies and ENs for VR services and payments under the Ticket to Work program. VR strives to help individuals with disabilities achieve and sustain productive, self-supporting work activity.

 

Table IV.E1.—Selected SSI Costs, Fiscal Years 1978‑2017
[Outlays in millions]  

Fiscal year	SSI administrative expenses a	Beneficiary services b
1978	$539	$31.6
1979	611	57.0
1980	668	33.1
1981	717	37.3
1982	780	12.0
1983	846	8.0
1984	864	c 84.0
1985	956	3.0
1986	1,023	7.2
1987	977	9.5
1988	976	12.9
1989	1,052	20.0
1990	1,075	28.3
1991	1,230	33.1
1992	1,426	36.0
1993	1,468	32.3
1994	1,780	33.8
1995	1,978	48.2
1996	1,953	71.8
1997	2,055	77.3
1998	2,304	46.0
1999	2,493	52.0
2000	2,321	53.7
2001	2,397	43.9
2002	2,522	54.0
2003	2,656	37.0
2004	2,806	38.6
2005	2,795	30.4
2006	2,916	38.9
2007	2,857	36.1
2008	2,820	45.1
2009	3,316	48.6
2010	3,629	46.1
2011	3,931	33.0
2012	3,881	35.5
2013	3,789	55.6
2014	3,990	63.0
2015	4,242	88.6
2016	4,212	95.7
2017(estimated)	4,992	144.0

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a

Includes user fees charged to participating States to reimburse SSA for the costs of administering their SSI State supplementation program.

b

Includes payments for referral and monitoring services for drug addicts and alcoholics through December 1996; these payments were terminated effective January 1997.

c

Reflects a one-time payment to State VR agencies for prior year expenses.

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1

If necessary, section 201(g)(1) of the Act provides that the Social Security trust funds may temporarily finance SSI administrative expenses, including Federal administration of State supplementation payments. General revenues subsequently reimburse the trust funds, including any interest lost.