Actuarial Publications

Beneficiary data

Family benefit data

Trust fund data

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.

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FACT SHEET ON THE OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM

A. Beneficiaries in Current-Payment Status, June 30, 2012

Type of benefit Number of
beneficiaries
[In thousands]		 Monthly
rate
[In millions]		 Average
monthly
amount
Total 56,175 $63,350 a
 Retired workers and their family members, total 39,097 46,438 a
  Retired workers 36,202 44,674 $1,234
  Spouses 2,285 1,395 610
  Children 609 369 605
 Survivors of deceased workers, total 6,279 6,529 a
  Children 1,911 1,502 786
  Widowed mothers and fathers with child beneficiaries in their care 152 134 880
  Aged widow(er)s, and aged parents 3,962 4,715 1,190
  Disabled widow(er)s 254 178 702
 Disabled workers and their family members, total 10,799 10,384 a
  Disabled workers 8,733 9,707 1,111
  Spouses 165 50 299
  Children 1,900 628 330
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, June 30, 2012

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 9,980 $10,587
Children (OASDI) 4,421 2,498
 Student children 165 111
 Disabled children aged 18 and over 993 702
 Children under age 18 3,263 1,685
Survivor children and widowed mothers and fathers 2,063 1,636
Beneficiaries aged 62 and over (OASDI) 44,397 53,101
Beneficiaries aged 65 and over (OASDI) 39,002 47,238

 

C. Average Monthly Family Benefits in
Current-Payment Status, June 30, 2012

Selected family a group Number of
families
[In thousands]		 Average
family
benefit		 Average
number of
beneficiaries
per family
Retired worker alone 33,519 $1,223 1.000
Retired worker and spouse, aged 62 and over 2,164 2,003 2.000
Disabled worker, spouse under full retirement age, and 1 or more children 70 1,880 3.982
Widowed parent and 2 children 47 2,501 3.000
Children of deceased workerb 1,171 1,026 1.321
Aged widow(er) alone 3,778 1,189 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

  1. Coverage
    About 159 million people will work in OASDI-covered employment in 2012.

    About 94 percent of workers in paid employment and self-employment are covered under the OASDI program.

  2. Benefit receipt among the elderly
    As of June 30, 2012, about 89 percent of the population aged 65 and over were receiving benefits.

  3. Protection for survivors of young workers
    About 96 percent of persons aged 20-49 who worked in covered employment in 2011 have acquired survivorship protection for their children under age 18 (and surviving spouses caring for children under age 16).

  4. Disability protection
    About 91 percent of persons aged 21-64 who worked in covered employment in 2011 can count on monthly cash benefits if they suffer a severe and prolonged disability.

 

E. Operations of OASI and DI Trust Funds, Combined, in 2011
[In billions]

Calendar
year		 Fiscal
year
Income $805.1 $798.7
 Payroll tax contributions 564.2 579.1
 Reimbursement from General Revenue 102.7 80.6
 Taxation of benefits 23.8 23.1
 Interest and other income 114.4 116.0
Expenditures 736.1 730.7
 Benefit payments 725.1 719.5
  OASI 596.2 591.5
  DI 128.9 128.0
 Railroad Retirement transfer 4.6 4.6
 Administrative expenditures 6.4 6.7
Assets, end of period 2,677.9 2,653.3
Note: Totals may not equal the sums of rounded components.

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Last reviewed or modified June 25, 2012