Are Social Security Payments at Risk During the Government Shutdown?

As I write this, the government shutdown that began on Oct. 1 is now 15 days old and counting. That makes it the sixth-longest federal shutdown in U.S. history, and it's about to move into fifth place on that notorious list.

Unfortunately, at the moment there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. House Speaker Mike Johnson said this past week that "we're barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American History."

The impact of the standoff between Congressional Republicans and Democrats is beginning to bite, too. Many government services have shuttered, official economic data the Federal Reserve and financial markets depend on is not being published, and the White House is canceling federal projects and threatening to permanently lay off some federal workers.

Perhaps the most important question for retirees about the shutdown is, how will it impact my Social Security payments?

Checks will continue

The news there is mostly good. That's because certain agencies operate on a permanent funding basis and should continue to operate pretty much as they always do, even during a protracted shutdown. And the Social Security Administration, as well as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, fall under that category.

According to the Social Security website: "Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments to beneficiaries will continue with no change in payment dates." The bottom line: Your Social Security checks will keep coming.

That said, the Social Security Administration and the Medicare/Medicaid administrator do cut back some services during government shutdowns. Here are a few services you cannot get until a new budget bill is passed and the shutdown ends:

• Replace your Medicare card.
• Issue a proof of income letter.
• Update or correct earnings record.

But Social Security's online services will remain open.

No end in sight

It's obviously good news that Social Security payments won't be impacted by the shutdown. Yet hope remains that Congress can come to an agreement and end the shutdown soon.

Image source: Getty Images.

The central issue in this particular stalemate has to do with healthcare. Subsidies to make Affordable Care Act insurance plans affordable expire at the end of this year. Democrats are demanding that any new spending bill extend those payments, while Republicans want to deal with the issue later in the year, if at all. The two sides will have to come to some kind of agreement on the issue for the shutdown to end.

At the moment, however, it doesn't look good. Part of that is because the American public spreads blame for the standoff pretty equally. A recent poll by CBS found that 39% of voters blame President Trump and Republicans for it; 30% blame Democrats; and 31% blame both parties equally. In politics, that kind of equal blame only causes political parties to dig in.

One issue that could bring pressure on both sides to end the shutdown would be if it significantly disrupts travel for many Americans.

A month-long shutdown in 2018 ended just after a shortage of air traffic controllers tied up travel in New York and other air travel hubs. This time around, air traffic controllers have already received partial paychecks and might begin to miss entire paychecks if the shutdown lasts another two weeks.

Let's all hope it doesn't come to that because much economic damage can result from a protracted shutdown. The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates that every week of the shutdown will reduce the nation's gross domestic product by $15 billion.

Right now it's difficult to predict how it will play out. Thankfully for retirees and others who depend on Social Security checks to get by, at least those payments are safe.

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