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HOW THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN AFFECTS SOCIAL SECURITY: GOOD INFORMATION

 October 1, 2025

HOW THE SHUTDOWN AFFECTS SOCIAL SECURITY

My good friend Attorney Karl Osterhout has provided me with a lot of good information about how the US government shutdown will affect Social Security. I want to share this with you.

As all of you are undoubtedly aware, the federal government shut down at midnight on October 1. The early indication is that this may last for some time. Understandably, this creates concern for our clients and for the professionals who represent them. Below is the best information available right now about how this might affect clients who are in the process of applying for benefits.

Benefits to Current Claimants

Clients already receiving Social Security, SSI, or SSDI benefits will continue receiving payments without interruption. This has been true in all 20 previous shutdowns since 1976, and disability benefits remain funded as “mandatory spending” outside of congressional appropriations.

Pending Claims and Applications

  • Hearings: The Social Security Administration (SSA) will hold already scheduled disability hearings.

  • Initial Applications: State Disability Determination Services will continue processing initial claims, but processing speed may vary because each state controls its own staffing and funding during a lapse. Each state must independently determine whether it can maintain operations (pay its employees) during a federal funding lapse. This could lead to some states processing claims more or less as usual, but others, more affected by the funding lapse, may be processing claims more slowly.

  • Appeals/Reconsiderations: These will continue but probably with reduced support staff, resulting in extended processing times.

Anticipated Service Disruptions

SSA has furloughed about 6,200 employees out of roughly 51,800. However, about 88% of staff remain working on essential functions. This is higher than in prior shutdowns, which should limit disruption compared to 2013.Even so, we expect:

Customer Service: Phone wait times will rise; many calls may go unanswered.

Field Offices: Field offices will continue taking benefit applications and processing post-entitlement actions that impact payments, but with reduced staffing creating longer waits and limited walk-in availabilityDocumentation Services: Benefit verification letters, replacement cards (except original and replacement Social Security cards, which will continue), and non-claims-related earnings record corrections will not be processed during the shutdownMedicare Cards: Replacement Medicare cards will not be issued during the shutdown

Online Services: SSA's online portal will remain operational, but technical support will be unavailable

Overpayment Processing: Suspended for the duration of the shutdown.

If the shutdown extends beyond 5 days, SSA may recall additional staff to maintain critical functions, as it did in 2013.

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