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Social Security Program Fact Sheet |
Our semi-annual Fact Sheet on the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Program provides recent information on the number of beneficiaries and their average benefit amount, measures of protection provided by Social Security, and trust fund financial data. The latest Fact Sheet is shown below. To print the Fact Sheet, we recommend the PDF version. (PDF requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar reader.) |
FACT SHEET ON THE OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM
A. Beneficiaries in Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008
Type of benefit Number of
beneficiaries
[In thousands]Monthly
rate
[In millions]Average
monthly
amountTotal 50,898 $53,666 a Retired workers and their family members, total 35,169 38,853 a Retired workers 32,273 37,207 $1,153 Spouses 2,370 1,348 569 Children 525 298 568 Survivors of deceased workers, total 6,456 6,336 a Children 1,915 1,427 745 Widowed mothers and fathers with child beneficiaries in their care 160 133 835 Aged widow(er)s, and aged parents 4,152 4,618 1,112 Disabled widow(er)s 230 157 684 Disabled workers and their family members, total 9,274 8,478 a Disabled workers 7,427 7,896 1,063 Spouses 155 44 285 Children 1,692 537 318 a Since the benefit amounts for workers and for the various types of family members and survivors are based on different proportions of the worker's benefit, average monthly amounts for groups of these different kinds of beneficiaries are not meaningful.
B. Selected Categories of Beneficiaries (Included Above) in
Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008
Type of benefit Number of
beneficiaries
[In thousands]Monthly
rate
[In millions]Disabled beneficiaries (OASDI)—Workers, disabled children aged 18 and over, and disabled widow(er)s 8,529 $8,647 Children (OASDI) 4,132 2,263 Student children 142 92 Disabled children aged 18 and over 871 594 Children under age 18 3,118 1,577 Survivor children and widowed mothers and fathers 2,074 1,560 Beneficiaries aged 62 and over (OASDI) 40,275 44,827 Beneficiaries aged 65 and over (OASDI) 35,819 40,242
C. Average Monthly Family Benefits in
Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008
Selected family a group Number of
families
[In thousands]Average
family
benefitAverage
number of
beneficiaries
per familyRetired worker alone 29,570 $1,140 1.000 Retired worker and spouse, aged 62 and over 2,257 1,877 2.000 Disabled worker, spouse under full retirement age, and 1 or more children 73 1,795 3.944 Widowed parent and 2 children 50 2,372 3.000 Children of deceased workerb 1,153 983 1.333 Aged widow(er) alone 3,973 1,112 1.000 a A family means beneficiaries entitled on one worker's account.
b In most cases, the family includes a widowed parent whose benefits are withheld due to earnings.
D. Measures of Protection
- Coverage
About 162 million people will work in OASDI-covered employment in 2009.About 94 percent of workers in paid employment and self-employment are covered under the OASDI program.
- Benefit receipt among the elderly
As of December 31, 2008, about 90 percent of the population aged 65 and over were receiving benefits.
- Protection for survivors of young workers
About 97 percent of persons aged 20-49 who worked in covered employment in 2008 have acquired survivorship protection for their children under age 18 (and surviving spouses caring for children under age 16).
- Disability protection
About 91 percent of persons aged 21-64 who worked in covered employment in 2008 can count on monthly cash benefits if they suffer a severe and prolonged disability.
E. Operations of OASI and DI Trust Funds, Combined
[In billions]
Calendar
year
2007Fiscal
year
2008Cumulative 1937 through end of — Calendar year 2007 Fiscal year 2008 Income $784.9 $802.7 $12,253.4 $12,849.4 Contributions 656.1 671.2 10,898.3 11,423.3 Other 128.8 131.5 1,355.1 1,426.1 Expenditures 594.5 617.0 10,014.9 10,483.1 Benefit payments 584.9 607.2 9,806.8 10,266.6 OASI 489.1 503.0 8,532.0 8,912.7 DI 95.9 104.2 1,274.7 1,353.9 Other 9.6 9.8 208.2 216.6 Assets, end of period 2,238.5 2,366.3 2,238.5 2,366.3 Note: Totals may not equal the sums of rounded components.
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