2015 OASDI Trustees Report

III. FINANCIAL OPERATIONS OF THE TRUST FUNDS AND
LEGISLATIVE CHANGES IN THE LAST YEAR

A. OPERATIONS OF THE OLD‑AGE AND SURVIVORS INSURANCE (OASI) AND DISABILITY INSURANCE (DI) TRUST FUNDS, IN CALENDAR YEAR 2014

This section presents detailed information on the operations of the OASI and DI Trust Funds¹ during calendar year 2014. Chapter IV provides projections for calendar years 2015 through 2090.

1. OASI Trust Fund

Table III.A1 presents a statement of the income and disbursements of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund in calendar year 2014, and of the asset reserves in the fund at the beginning and end of the calendar year. As shown in this table, total trust fund receipts in 2014 amounted to $769.4 billion, while disbursements totaled $714.2 billion, an increase in trust fund reserves during 2014 of $55.2 billion.

Total receipts during calendar year 2014 included $648.4 billion in payroll tax contributions. These contributions include initial appropriations of payroll taxes, made on an estimated basis, and adjustments to appropriations for prior years to reflect actual tax receipts. The OASI fund paid the general fund $2.2 billion for the estimated amount of employee payroll-tax refunds, partially offsetting these gross contributions. Employees who work for more than one employer during a year and pay contributions on total earnings in excess of the contribution and benefit base are eligible for such refunds. Net payroll tax contributions were therefore $646.2 billion in 2014.

Net reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury amounted to $0.4 billion in 2014. As shown in the table, adjustments to prior year receipts based on Public Law 111-312, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Public Law 112-78, the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, and Public Law 112-96, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, account for almost all of the reimbursement for the year. These acts specified general fund reimbursement for temporary reductions in employee and self-employment payroll taxes for earnings in 2011 and 2012.

The General Fund of the Treasury reimbursed the OASI Trust Fund approximately $25 million in 2014 based on adjustments to prior years’ reimbursements for earnings in 2010 under the provisions of Public Law 111-147, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. The General Fund reimbursed the OASI Trust Fund about $7 million in 2014 under the provisions of Public Law 110-246, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.

Income based on taxation of OASI benefits amounted to $28.0 billion in 2014. About 99 percent of this income represents amounts credited to the trust funds, generally in advance of the actual receipt of taxes by the Treasury. These credited amounts represent the net amount of initial estimated taxes transferred for tax liabilities in 2014. The remaining one percent of the total income from taxation of benefits represents amounts withheld from the benefits paid to nonresident aliens.

In 2014, the OASI Trust Fund earned $94.8 billion in net interest, which consisted of: (1) interest earned on the investments held by the trust fund, (2) interest on adjustments in the allocation of administrative expenses between the trust fund and the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program, (3) interest arising from the revised allocation of administrative expenses among the trust funds, and (4) interest on certain reimbursements to the trust fund.

The remaining receipts, about $5 thousand, consisted of gifts received under the provisions authorizing the deposit of money gifts or bequests to the trust funds.

Table III.A1.—Operations of the OASI Trust Fund, Calendar Year 2014

[In millions]

Total asset reserves, December 31, 2013					$2,673,985
Receipts:
	Net payroll tax contributions:
		Payroll tax contributions1		$648,390
		Payments from the General Fund of the Treasury for payroll tax contributions subject to refunda		-2,158
			Net payroll tax contributionsa		646,232
	Reimbursements from the general fund:
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-312, P.L. 112-78, and P.L. 112-96a		363
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-147a		25
		Reimbursements directed by P.L. 110-246		7
		Payroll tax credits due to P.L. 98-21a		2
			Net general fund reimbursementsa		395
	Income based on taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		184
		All other, not subject to withholding		27,773
			Total income from taxation of benefits		27,957
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		94,832
		Interest adjustments3		1
			Total investment income and interest adjustments		94,833
	Gifts				b
Total receipts					769,417
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Monthly benefits and lump-sum death payments4		706,821
		Reimbursement from the general fund for unnegotiated checks		-43
		Payment for costs of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries		2
			Net benefit paymentsd		706,780
	Financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement “Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account”				4,257
	Administrative expenses:
		Costs incurred by:
			Social Security Administration	2,911
			Department of the Treasury	504
		Adjustments for prior year administrative expenses		-271
		Offsetting miscellaneous receipts		-6
		Miscellaneous reimbursements from the general fund 5		-5
			Net administrative expenses		3,133
Total disbursements					714,170
Net increase in asset reserves					55,247
Total asset reserves, December 31, 2014					2,729,233

---

1

Includes adjustments for prior calendar years.

2

Between -$0.5 and $0.5 million.

3

Includes: (1) interest on adjustments in the allocation of administrative expenses between the trust fund and the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program, (2) interest arising from the revised allocation of administrative expenses among the trust funds, and (3) interest on certain reimbursements to the trust fund.

4

Includes net reductions for the recovery of overpayments.

5

Reimbursements for costs incurred in performing certain legislatively mandated activities not directly related to administering the OASI program.

Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

Of the $714.2 billion in total OASI disbursements in 2014, $706.8 billion was for net benefit payments, including recovered overpayments, reimbursements from the general fund for unnegotiated checks, and the reimbursable costs of vocational rehabilitation services². Net benefit payments increased by 5.2 percent from calendar year 2013 to calendar year 2014. This increase is due primarily to: (1) an increase in the total number of beneficiaries and (2) an increase in the average benefit amount. The increase in the average benefit amount in 2014 was due in large part to the automatic cost-of-living benefit increase of 1.5 percent which became effective for December 2013 under the automatic-adjustment provisions in section 215(i) of the Social Security Act. In addition, new beneficiaries tend to have higher benefits than previous cohorts.

The Railroad Retirement Act requires an annual financial interchange between the Railroad Retirement program and the OASDI program. The purpose of the interchange is to put the OASI and DI Trust Funds in the same financial position they would have been in had railroad employment always been covered directly by Social Security. The Railroad Retirement Board and the Social Security Administration calculated an interchange of $4.3 billion from the OASI Trust Fund to the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account for June 2014.

The remaining $3.1 billion of disbursements from the OASI Trust Fund represents net administrative expenses. The Social Security Administration charges administrative expenses incurred to administer the OASI program directly to the trust fund on an estimated basis. Periodically, as actual expenses are recorded, they adjust the allocations of administrative expenses for prior periods. These adjustments affect the OASI Trust Fund, the DI Trust Fund, the HI Trust Fund, the SMI Trust Fund, and the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program, and include appropriate interest adjustments. As described earlier, the trust fund accounting records such interest adjustments under investment income.

For 2014, the cost incurred by the Social Security Administration to administer the OASI program was 86 percent of OASI net administrative expenses. The Social Security Administration charges such costs to the trust fund ($2.9 billion in 2014). In addition, the Department of the Treasury charges to the trust fund expenses ($0.5 billion in 2014) for services provided in administering the OASI program. A relatively small offset ($6 million in 2014) to administrative expenses represents income from miscellaneous receipts due to the trust fund, which may include refunds, penalties, fees, and other receipts.

Finally, the General Fund of the Treasury makes net reimbursements for administrative costs incurred by the Social Security Administration in performing legislatively mandated activities that are not directly related to the OASI program. These reimbursements include the costs associated with union activities related to administering the OASI program ($4 million in 2014) and with the provision of information to participants in certain pension plans ($971 thousand in 2014). These miscellaneous reimbursements totaled $5 million in 2014.

The asset reserves in the OASI Trust Fund at the end of calendar year 2014 totaled $2,729.2 billion, consisting of $2,729.3 billion in U.S. Government obligations and, as an offset, an extension of credit of $38 million against securities to be redeemed within the following days. The effective annual rate of interest earned by the reserves in the OASI Trust Fund during calendar year 2014 was 3.6 percent, slightly lower than the 3.8 percent earned during calendar year 2013. Table VI.A4, presented in appendix A, shows a detailed listing of OASI Trust Fund holdings by type of security, interest rate, and year of maturity at the end of calendar years 2013 and 2014.

By law, the Department of the Treasury must invest trust fund reserves in interest-bearing securities backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. Those securities currently held by the OASI Trust Fund are special issues, that is, securities sold only to the trust funds. These special issues are of two types: short-term certificates of indebtedness and longer-term bonds. Daily receipts are invested in the short-term certificates of indebtedness which mature on the next June 30 following the date of issue. The trust fund normally acquires long-term special-issue bonds when special issues of either type mature on June 30 and must be reinvested. The amount of long-term bonds acquired on June 30 is equal to the amount of special issues maturing (including accrued interest earnings), plus tax receipts for that day, less amounts required to meet expenditures on that day.

Section 201(d) of the Social Security Act provides that the obligations issued for purchase by the OASI and DI Trust Funds shall have maturities fixed with due regard for the needs of the funds. The usual practice has been to reinvest the maturing special issues, as of each June 30, so that the value of the securities maturing in each of the next 15 years are approximately equal. Accordingly, the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration, selected the amounts and maturity dates of the special-issue bonds purchased on June 30, 2014, so that the maturity dates of the total portfolio of special issues were spread evenly over the 15‑year period 2015‑29. The bonds purchased on that date have an interest rate of 2.250 percent, reflecting the average market yield, as of the last business day of the prior month, on all of the outstanding marketable U.S. obligations that are due or callable more than 4 years in the future. Table III.A7 shows additional details on the investment transactions during 2014, including the amounts of bonds purchased on June 30, 2014.

2. DI Trust Fund

Table III.A2 presents a statement of the income and disbursements of the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund in calendar year 2014, and of the asset reserves in the fund at the beginning and end of the calendar year.

Line entries in the DI statement are similar to those in the OASI statement. The explanations of the OASI entries generally apply to DI as well.

Of the $114.9 billion in total receipts, $109.7 billion was net payroll tax contributions.

Of the $145.1 billion of total disbursements, $141.7 billion was net benefit payments. Net benefit payments increased by 1.1 percent from calendar year 2013 to calendar year 2014. This increase in DI benefit payments was due to the same factors described earlier for OASI benefit payments. Total DI disbursements exceeded non-interest income in years 2005 through 2014 and exceeded total income in years 2009 through 2014.

During 2014, the reserves in the DI Trust Fund decreased by $30.2 billion, from $90.4 billion at the end of 2013 to $60.2 billion at the end of 2014. The $60.2 billion reserves in the DI Trust Fund at the end of calendar year 2014 consisted of $60.3 billion in U.S. Government obligations and, as an offset, an extension of credit of $67 million against securities to be redeemed within the following few days. The effective annual rate of interest earned by the asset reserves in the DI Trust Fund during calendar year 2014 was 4.5 percent, about the same as the 4.5 percent earned during calendar year 2013. Table VI.A5, presented in appendix A, shows a detailed listing of DI Trust Fund holdings by type of security, interest rate, and year of maturity at the end of calendar years 2013 and 2014.

Table III.A2.—Operations of the DI Trust Fund, Calendar Year 2014

[In millions]

Total asset reserves, December 31, 2013					$90,445
Receipts:
	Net payroll tax contributions:
		Payroll tax contributions1		$110,103
		Payments from the General Fund of the Treasury for payroll tax contributions subject to refunda		-366
			Net payroll tax contributionsa		109,737
	Reimbursements from the general fund:
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-312, P.L. 112-78, and P.L. 112-96a		65
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-147a		4
		Reimbursements directed by P.L. 110-246		1
		Payroll tax credits due to P.L. 98-21a		2
			Net general fund reimbursementsa		71
	Income based on taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		4
		All other, not subject to withholding		1,676
			Total income from taxation of benefits		1,680
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		3,369
		Interest adjustments 3		1
			Total investment income and interest adjustments		3,371
Total receipts					114,858
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Monthly benefits4		141,622
		Reimbursement from the general fund for unnegotiated checks		-21
		Payment for costs of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries		83
			Net benefit paymentsd		141,683
	Financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement “Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account”				444
	Administrative expenses:
		Costs incurred by:
			Social Security Administration	2,715
			Department of the Treasury	96
		Adjustments for prior year administrative expenses		109
		Demonstration projects		17
		Miscellaneous reimbursements from the general fund 5		-4
			Net administrative expenses		2,933
Total disbursements					145,060
Net increase in asset reserves					-30,201
Total asset reserves, December 31, 2014					60,244

---

1

Includes adjustments for prior calendar years.

2

Between -$0.5 and $0.5 million.

3

Includes: (1) interest on adjustments in the allocation of administrative expenses between the trust fund and the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program, (2) interest arising from the revised allocation of administrative expenses among the trust funds, and (3) interest on certain reimbursements to the trust fund.

4

Includes net reductions for the recovery of overpayments.

5

Reimbursements for costs incurred in performing legislatively mandated activities not directly related to administering the DI program.

Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

Section 201(d) of the Social Security Act provides that the Treasury securities issued for purchase by the OASI and DI Trust Funds shall have maturities fixed with due regard for the needs of the funds. The usual practice has been to reinvest the maturing special issues, as of each June 30, so that the values of the securities maturing in each of the next 15 years are approximately equal. However, as of June 2014, the Trustees projected that the reserves in the DI Trust Fund would be depleted within 15 years. Therefore, the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration, selected the amounts and maturity dates of the DI special-issue bonds purchased on June 30, 2014, so that equal amounts of special issues would mature over the two-year period 2015-16. The bonds purchased have an interest rate of 2.250 percent, reflecting the average market yield, as of the last business day of the prior month, on all of the outstanding marketable U.S. obligations that are due or callable more than 4 years in the future. As of June 30, 2014, the DI Trust Fund had already redeemed all of the bonds coming due on June 30, 2015 and on June 30, 2016, so this investment approach required that all bond purchases on June 30, 2014 be split evenly over maturity dates of June 30, 2015 and June 30, 2016. Table III.A7 shows additional details on the investment transactions during 2014.

3. OASI and DI Trust Funds, Combined

Table III.A3 presents a statement of the operations of the OASI and DI Trust Funds on a theoretical combined basis³. The entries in this table represent the sums of the corresponding values from tables III.A1 and III.A2. The two preceding subsections that cover OASI and DI provide a description of the nature of these income and expenditure transactions.

Table III.A3.—Operations of the Combined OASI and DI Trust Funds,
Calendar Year 2014 

[In millions]

Total asset reserves, December 31, 2013					$2,764,431
Receipts:
	Net payroll tax contributions:
		Payroll tax contributions1		$758,494
		Payments from the General Fund of the Treasury for payroll tax contributions subject to refunda		-2,524
			Net payroll tax contributionsa		755,969
	Reimbursements from the general fund:
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-312, P.L. 112-78, and P.L. 112-96a		428
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-147a		29
		Reimbursements directed by P.L. 110-246		8
		Payroll tax credits due to P.L. 98-21a		2
			Net general fund reimbursementsa		465
	Income based on taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		188
		All other, not subject to withholding		29,449
			Total income from taxation of benefits		29,637
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		98,201
		Interest adjustments 3		3
			Total investment income and interest adjustments		98,204
	Gifts				b
Total receipts					884,276
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Monthly benefits and lump-sum death payments4		848,443
		Reimbursement from the general fund for unnegotiated checks		-64
		Payment for costs of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries		85
			Net benefit paymentsd		848,463
	Financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement “Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account”				4,701
	Administrative expenses:
		Costs incurred by:
			Social Security Administration	5,626
			Department of the Treasury	600
		Adjustments for prior year administrative expenses		-163
		Offsetting miscellaneous receipts		-6
		Demonstration projects		17
		Miscellaneous reimbursements from the general fund 5		-8
			Net administrative expenses		6,066
Total disbursements					859,230
Net increase in asset reserves					25,046
Total asset reserves, December 31, 2014					2,789,476

---

1

Includes adjustments for prior calendar years.

2

Between -$0.5 and $0.5 million.

3

Includes: (1) interest on adjustments in the allocation of administrative expenses between the trust funds and the general fund account for the Supplemental Security Income program, (2) interest arising from the revised allocation of administrative expenses among the trust funds, and (3) interest on certain reimbursements to the trust funds.

4

Includes net reductions for the recovery of overpayments.

5

Reimbursements for costs incurred in performing certain legislatively mandated activities not directly related to administering the OASI and DI programs.

Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

Table III.A4 compares estimates of total income and total expenditures for calendar year 2014 from the 2010-14 Trustees Reports to the corresponding actual amounts for 2014.

Table III.A4.—Comparison of Actual Calendar Year 2014 Trust Fund Operations
With Estimates Made in Prior Reports, Based on Intermediate Assumptions ¹ 

[Amounts in billions]

		Total income  2			Total expenditures
		Amount	Difference from actual (percent)		Amount	Difference from actual (percent)
OASI Trust Fund:
	Estimate in 2010 report	$902.4	17.3		$728.1	2.0
	Estimate in 2011 report	845.7	9.9		711.7	-.3
	Estimate in 2012 report	803.8	4.5		727.2	1.8
	Estimate in 2013 report	781.0	1.5		724.7	1.5
	Estimate in 2014 report	768.0	-.2		716.4	.3
	Actual amount	769.4	—		714.2	—
DI Trust Fund:
	Estimate in 2010 report	130.7	13.8		153.2	5.6
	Estimate in 2011 report	124.2	8.1		148.8	2.6
	Estimate in 2012 report	119.1	3.7		153.2	5.6
	Estimate in 2013 report	117.1	2.0		150.2	3.6
	Estimate in 2014 report	114.4	-.4		146.7	1.1
	Actual amount	114.9	—		145.1	—
OASI and DI Trust Funds, combined:
	Estimate in 2010 report	1,033.0	16.8		881.3	2.6
	Estimate in 2011 report	969.9	9.7		860.5	.2
	Estimate in 2012 report	922.9	4.4		880.5	2.5
	Estimate in 2013 report	898.2	1.6		875.0	1.8
	Estimate in 2014 report	882.4	-.2		863.1	.4
	Actual amount	884.3	—		859.2	—

---

1

Percentage differences are calculated prior to rounding.

2

“Actual” income for 2014 reflects adjustments to payroll tax contributions for prior calendar years (see appendix A for description of these adjustments). “Estimated” income also includes such adjustments, but on an estimated basis.

Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

A number of factors contribute to differences between estimates and subsequent actual amounts, including: (1) actual values for key demographic, economic, and other variables that differ from earlier assumed levels; and (2) legislation that was enacted or other administrative initiatives that were finalized after the Trustees completed their estimates.

At the end of calendar year 2014, the OASDI program was providing monthly benefits to about 59.1 million people. The OASI Trust Fund was providing benefits to about 48.1 million people and the DI Trust Fund was providing benefits to about 10.9 million people. The number of people receiving benefits from the OASI Trust Fund grew by 2.3 percent while the number of people receiving DI benefits fell by 0.5 percent during calendar year 2014. These changes reflect the gradual aging of the population, with the baby-boom generation moving above normal retirement age, where DI benefits are no longer applicable. Table III.A5 shows the estimated distributions of benefit payments in calendar years 2013 and 2014, by type of beneficiary, for each trust fund separately.

Table III.A5.—Distribution of Benefit Payments by Type of Beneficiary or Payment, Calendar Years 2013 and 2014 

[Amounts in millions]

				Calendar year 2013			Calendar year 2014
				Amount	Percentage of total		Amount	Percentage of total
Total OASDI benefit payments				$812,247	100.0		$848,443	100.0
	OASI benefit payments			672,175	82.8		706,821	83.3
	DI benefit payments			140,071	17.2		141,622	16.7
OASI benefit payments, total				672,175	100.0		706,821	100.0
	Monthly benefits:
		Retired workers and auxiliaries		559,942	83.3		592,578	83.8
			Retired workers	528,862	78.7		560,120	79.2
			Spouses	26,300	3.9		27,484	3.9
			Children	4,780	.7		4,974	.7
		Survivors of deceased workers		112,032	16.7		114,044	16.1
			Aged widows and widowers	89,126	13.3		90,862	12.9
			Disabled widows and widowers	2,301	.3		2,330	.3
			Parents	22	1		21	a
			Children	18,923	2.8		19,192	2.7
			Widowed mothers and fathers caring for child beneficiaries	1,660	.2		1,638	.2
	Lump-sum death payments			201	a		199	a
DI benefit payments, total				140,071	100.0		141,622	100.0
		Disabled workers		130,427	93.1		132,154	93.3
		Spouses		615	.4		598	.4
		Children		9,028	6.4		8,870	6.3

---

1

Less than 0.05 percent.

Note: Benefits are monthly benefits and lump-sum death payments. Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

Net administrative expenses of the OASI and DI Trust Funds in calendar year 2014 totaled $6.1 billion. This amount is equal to 0.8 percent of non-interest income and 0.7 percent of total expenditures. Table III.A6 shows corresponding percentages for each trust fund separately and for the OASDI program as a whole for each of the last 5 years.

Table III.A6.—Administrative Expenses as a Percentage of Non-interest Income and of Total Expenditures, Calendar Years 2010-14

Calendar year	OASI Trust Fund			DI Trust Fund			OASI and DI Trust Funds, combined
	Non-interest income	Total expenditures		Non-interest income	Total expenditures		Non-interest income	Total expenditures
2010	0.6	0.6		3.1	2.3		1.0	0.9
2011	.6	.6		3.0	2.2		.9	.9
2012	.5	.5		2.8	2.1		.9	.8
2013	.5	.5		2.6	1.9		.8	.7
2014	.5	.4		2.6	2.0		.8	.7

The acquisition and disposition of securities during calendar year 2014 changed the invested reserves of the OASI Trust Fund and the DI Trust Fund. Table III.A7 presents these investment transactions for each trust fund separately and for the trust funds combined.

Table III.A7.—Trust Fund Investment Transactions, Calendar Year 2014

[In millions]

			OASI Trust Fund	DI Trust Fund	OASI and DI Trust Funds, combined
Invested asset reserves, December 31, 20131			$2,674,490	$90,723	$2,765,213
Acquisitions:
	Special issues:
		Certificates of indebtedness	726,926	114,021	840,947
		Bonds 2	237,945	5,010	242,955
		Total acquisitions	964,871	119,031	1,083,902
Dispositions:
	Special issues:
		Certificates of indebtedness	730,010	114,798	844,808
		Bonds	180,080	34,645	214,725
		Total dispositions	910,090	149,443	1,059,533
Net increase in invested asset reserves			54,781	-30,412	24,369
Invested asset reserves, December 31, 2014a			2,729,270	60,311	2,789,582

---

1

Invested asset reserves differ from total asset reserves by the amount of undisbursed balances. See tables VI.A4 and VI.A5 for details.

2

Purchased on June 30, 2014. The interest rate on these purchases was 2.25 percent.

Note: All investments are shown at par value. Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

---

1

See www.socialsecurity.gov/oact/ProgData/fundsQuery.html.

2

Vocational rehabilitation services are furnished to disabled widow(er) beneficiaries and to those children of retired or deceased workers who receive benefits based on disabilities that began before age 22. The trust funds reimburse the providers of such services only in those cases where the services contributed to the successful rehabilitation of the beneficiary.

3

The OASI and DI Trust Funds are distinct legal entities which operate independently. To illustrate the actuarial status of the program as a whole, the fund operations are often combined on a theoretical basis.