Overview
- SSA says October SSI was paid on October 1 and other benefits will post on beneficiaries’ usual birth‑date schedule.
- Under its contingency plan, about 45,600 of roughly 51,800 SSA employees remain on duty to ensure timely, accurate payments.
- Critical customer services continue, including processing benefit claims and appeals, address changes, SSI updates, fraud prevention and issuing new Social Security cards.
- Several administrative tasks are paused, including benefit verifications, non‑payment‑related earnings record corrections and replacement of Medicare cards.
- The 2026 cost‑of‑living adjustment remains pending because BLS has suspended September inflation reporting during the shutdown.