# Part II: Our Programs, Organization, Budget and Performance Integration 

### SSA's Programs

### 

SSA promotes the nation's economic security by administering America's
major income support programs for the elderly, disabled, and their
dependents:

-   Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI);

-   Disability Insurance (DI); and

-   Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

The programs administered by SSA touch the lives of over 95 percent of
all Americans. We provide service to individuals at critical junctures
in their lives, be it the onset of an unexpected disability, the
untimely loss of a spouse or a parent, the inability to meet basic needs
as a senior citizen, or exiting the workforce due to retirement.

The combined Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI)
programs, commonly referred to as Social Security, have significantly
improved the economic well-being of the nation. Poverty among the
elderly has been reduced by 54 percent over the past 30 years. In 1935,
when the Social Security Act was passed, most of the nation's elderly
were living in poverty. Today, monthly Social Security benefits are an
important contributor to the quality of life of elderly Americans and
millions more who are protected in case of a worker's death or
disability.

The SSI program, which is funded through general revenues, provides cash
assistance to aged, blind or disabled individuals in financial need. SSA
also provides service delivery support to the Medicare, Medicaid, Black
Lung, Railroad Retirement, and Food Stamp programs.

In FY 2004, SSA will make monthly federal benefit payments to more than

50 million people, for an annual total of \$523 billion. In addition to
providing monthly benefit payments, SSA's ongoing operational
responsibilities include:

-   Taking applications for and issuing Social Security numbers after
    obtaining and evaluating evidence of identity;

-   Processing and maintaining life-long earnings records for most of
    the working population;

-   Issuing Social Security Statements required by law or requested by
    individuals;

-   Taking claims, evaluating evidence, and making determinations of
    eligibility for monthly benefits;

-   Adjudicating appeals of disputed decisions;

-   Processing millions of actions to keep beneficiary records current
    and accurate;

-   Conducting continuing eligibility reviews to avoid erroneous
    payments to Social Security and SSI beneficiaries if factors
    affecting their eligibility or monthly benefit amount have changed;
    and

-   Managing the Ticket to Work program to help increase employment for
    people with disabilities.

### Our Organization

### 

The Social Security Administration's organization is centrally managed,
with a decentralized nationwide network of over 1,500 regional offices,
field offices, Teleservice Centers (800 number), Program Service Centers
and Hearings Offices. Our organizational structure is designed to
provide timely, accurate and responsive service to the American public.
By integrating support services for all of our programs, we enhance
efficiency, avoid duplication of effort, and increase opportunities to
provide one-stop service to the public.

Field offices are the primary points for face-to-face contact with the
public. Teleservice Centers offer national toll-free telephone service
(at 1-800-772-1213). Our Program Service Centers process a wide variety
of workloads, as well as take 800-number calls. The Office of Central
Operations, which includes the Data Operations Center, processes a wide
variety of workloads involving disability, international and earnings
operations and also has an expanding role in taking 800-number calls.
The Hearing Offices and Appeals Council adjudicate appeals of Agency
decisions.

About 60,000 of SSA's 64,800 employees deliver direct service to the
public or directly support the services provided by our front-line
workers. The public is most familiar with our 34,300 employees in field
offices and Teleservice Centers, but they are also directly served by
another 19,800 employees in the components described above, as well as
the Office of Quality Assurance and Performance Assessment. Another
6,000 SSA employees in headquarters and regional offices directly
support the services delivered by our front-line workers. These include
the employees who build and maintain our expanding Internet services.

SSA's remaining employees perform equally important functions in
developing other information technology and public information products,
ensuring sound fiscal stewardship, developing and implementing uniform
program policy and procedures, and supporting our workforce by
providing, maintaining and safeguarding our work spaces. The state
Disability Determination Services (DDS), funded by SSA, add another
15,000 front-line employees, such as disability examiners, to the total
workforce providing direct service to the public. Whether in SSA or a
DDS, each and every employee in front line and staff positions plays an
important role in the success of the nation's Social Security programs.

### Our Budget Structure

### 

Our budget has two distinct parts -- the program budget and the
administrative budget. The program budget covers the benefits we pay to
individuals, while the administrative budget covers the costs of
administering our programs to serve the American people. The program
budget is considered part of the entitlement portion of the federal
budget. Seven separate accounts comprise our overall budget. These
accounts are categorized by the type of appropriation from which they
are funded:

+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| #### Account                          | **Type of Appropriation**    |
+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust | Permanent                    |
| Fund                                  |                              |
+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Disability Insurance Trust Fund       | Permanent                    |
+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Supplemental Security Income          | Annual                       |
+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Special Benefits for Certain WW II    | Permanent                    |
| Veterans                              |                              |
+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Payments to Social Security Trust     | Permanent/Annual             |
| Funds                                 |                              |
+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Office of the Inspector General       | Annual                       |
+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Limitation on Administrative Expenses | Annual                       |
+---------------------------------------+------------------------------+

Our permanent appropriations provide the funding needed to pay all
entitled Social Security beneficiaries automatically; the amount spent
each year is not determined through the annual appropriations process.
Social Security retirement, survivors and disability insurance benefit
outlays increase automatically as additional persons meet eligibility
requirements and as benefit levels increase based on cost-of-living
adjustments.

A brief sketch of each SSA budget account follows:

-   ***Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability
    Insurance (DI) Trust Funds:*** These accounts receive revenues from
    Social Security contributions and disburse benefit payments
    (entitlements) upon retirement, disability or death to insured
    workers and their families. Social Security benefit payments make up
    the overwhelming bulk of SSA's overall budget. These accounts are
    permanent appropriations.

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-   ***Supplemental Security Income (SSI):*** This annual appropriation
    provides for means-tested federal payments for aged, blind and
    disabled persons, vocational rehabilitation services, research
    funding, and reimbursing Social Security trust funds for SSI's share
    of SSA's administrative expenses.

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-   ***Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans:*** This
    permanent appropriation provides a monthly cash payment to certain
    World War II veterans who were eligible for SSI as of

December 14, 1999, but who reside outside of the United States.

-   ***Payments to Social Security Trust Funds (PTF):*** This account
    provides general fund payments to the Social Security trust funds
    intended to reimburse the trust funds for certain benefits or
    administrative expenditures (e.g., special payments for certain
    uninsured persons and costs associated with pension reform) that are
    chargeable to federal funds.

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-   ***Office of the Inspector General (IG):*** This annual
    appropriation funds the administrative expenses of the Inspector
    General. Financing is provided from both the Social Security trust
    funds and general revenues because IG monitors the Social Security
    and SSI programs.

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-   ***Limitation on Administrative Expenses (LAE):*** This is SSA's
    basic administrative account and is an annual appropriation financed
    from the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. The trust funds
    initially fund the administrative expenses of the SSI program but
    are subsequently reimbursed from the SSI account. In addition, fees
    paid by states for administration by SSA of their State SSI
    supplementation payments are used to offset the administrative cost
    of this service. SSA's administrative expenses continue to be a very
    small portion of program costs, amounting to about

> 1.6 percent of overall program outlays. The following table displays
> the LAE account by funding source *(using FY 2002 actual data for
> illustrative purposes):*

+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+
| ####                                            | **Budget | ####   |
|                                                 | A        |        |
| #### Funding Source - FY 2002                   | uthority | ###    |
|                                                 | in       | # Perc |
|                                                 | Mi       | ent of |
|                                                 | llions** |  Total |
+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+
| Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund      | \$1,867  | 24.7%  |
+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+
| Disability Insurance Trust Fund                 | \$1,581  | 20.9%  |
+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+
| Hospital Insurance Trust Fund                   | \$ 633   | 8.4%   |
+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+
| Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund      | \$ 560   | 7.4%   |
+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+
| Payment to Social Security Trust Funds for      | \$2,827  | 37.3%  |
| Administrative Expenses of the Supplemental     |          |        |
| Security Income Program                         |          |        |
+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+
| State Supplementation User Fee                  | \$ 100   | 1.3%   |
+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+
| Special Benefits for Certain WWII Veterans      | \$ 2     | .03%   |
+-------------------------------------------------+----------+--------+

*The LAE account pays for:*

> \-- Salaries and benefits of SSA federal employees (excluding IG);
>
> \-- Space, equipment, supplies, travel, printing and other non-payroll
> expenses;
>
> \-- Systems and telecommunications activities; and
>
> \-- Expenses of the State Disability Determination Services (DDS) paid
> by SSA.

### 

### Alignment of our Budget with our Annual Performance Plan (APP)

### 

In accordance with the President's Management Agenda initiative for
budget and performance integration, this APP is fully integrated with
the President's FY 2004 budget for Social Security.

We have aligned our strategic goals, performance measures, and budget
with our major functional responsibilities rather than by program
accounts (e.g., Old-Age and Survivor or Disability). Our organizational
structure is such that direct service and support employees provide
services linked to these functional responsibilities or business
processes, as opposed to a specific program. To highlight, here are just
a few examples:

-   Many of our SSI applicants are also OASI or DI applicants;

-   Much of our research and policy development in the area of
    disability supports both the DI and SSI programs; and

-   We maintain earnings records and issue Social Security numbers in
    support of the OASI, DI and Medicare programs.