The Trump administration is preparing for a layoff for government shutdown
The White House is asking federal agencies to prepare plans for mass shootings if the government is partially shut down next week, and the latest clash in the high-stakes conflict between President Donald Trump and Congressional Democrats partially shut down.
Less than 48 hours before the potential sub-government shutdown, Congress and the White House continue to refrain from keeping the government open or expiring health benefits for the roughly 24 million Americans who are being reported through the Affordable Care Act.
Congress will need to avoid a partial shutdown until the end of the day, September 30th. This will take effect if a last-minute agreement is not reached at 12:01am on October 1st. If closed, many federal agencies and services will be closed or significantly restricted, affecting everyday people who rely on programs such as Social Security.
Social Security is funded by the government, but it doesn’t do the same as national parks and the military. As a result, existing beneficiaries will feel the impact of the closure differently than Americans who have not yet received Social Security payments.
Here’s what you need to know about Social Security payments during government closures:
When could government closures occur?
The government’s current funds expired late at night on September 30th, with October 1st being the potential start of a partial government closure.
Since 1981, Reuters has shown that there have been 14 partial government closures, most have only lasted a day or two. One of the latest closures was one of the longest 35 days that lasted between December 2018 and December 2019 and January 2019, and between December 2018 and January 2019, due to a deadlock between the president and Congress over border security.
What happens during the government shutdown?
If Congress does not pass the budget law or Trump does not sign it, programs relying on federal agencies and annual funds will be suspended. During the government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, considered non-essential, mean that they will not work and will not be paid until the funds are recovered.
Key workers in areas such as law enforcement and the military continue to work without wages, and both groups will ultimately be refunded once the government is funded and reopened.
Will social security payments continue when the government closes?
Social Security benefits, including Supplementary Security Income (SSI), retirement, disability and survivor benefits, will continue uninterrupted through government closures.
Social Security Benefits Programs are considered legally mandatory expenditures. That is, according to the Social Security Agency (SSA), its budget does not rely on annual Congressional approval. Unlike discretionary spending that requires Congressional agreement on the costs of money, mandatory programs must continue. This means that Social Security payments are distributed over a regular schedule.
If you rely on these perks, you will need to continue receiving your checks or direct deposits as normal, regardless of what happens on October 1st.
However, other services offered by SSA, such as handling new applications, can be affected by shutdowns and the resulting shortage of workers and government systems.
What challenges do Social Security beneficiaries face in government closures?
While existing payments continue without confusion, people in need of Social Security benefits and those in the process of applying can face major delays during government shutdowns.
Those who are applying to access and accessing retirement, disability, or survivor benefits for the first time may face extended waiting times. People who are trying to update or receive benefits that handle the backlog in these processes as fewer employees are actively working to process the application, verify qualifications and provide the necessary documentation.
This is especially true for those that require manual review. Medical evaluations of disability benefits, appeals, or restructuring for rejection or repetitive payments and repetitive benefits calculations of recently deceased federal employee or veteran’s family are all examples of processes that can be delayed or suspended completely in closures.
