2017 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 2016

This section presents detailed information on the operations of the OASI and DI Trust Funds¹ during calendar year 2016. Chapter IV provides projections for calendar years 2017 through 2095.

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 2016, 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 2016 amounted to $797.5 billion, while disbursements totaled $776.4 billion, an increase in trust fund reserves during 2016 of $21.1 billion.²

Total receipts during calendar year 2016 included $681.5 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 $2.7 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 $678.8 billion in 2016.

Net reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury amounted to $0.1 billion in 2016. 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, or about $87.2 million. These acts specified General Fund reimbursement for temporary reductions in employee and self-employment payroll taxes for earnings in 2011 and 2012.

Income based on taxation of OASI benefits amounted to $31.6 billion in 2016. 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 2016 and adjustments to initial amounts transferred for prior periods. The remaining one percent of the total income from taxation of benefits represents amounts withheld from the benefits paid to nonresident aliens.

In 2016, the OASI Trust Fund earned $87.0 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 $3 thousand, consisted of gifts received under the provisions authorizing the deposit of monetary gifts or bequests in the trust funds.

Table III.A1.—Operations of the OASI Trust Fund, Calendar Year 2016 

[In millions]

Total asset reserves, December 31, 2015a					$2,780,251
Receipts:
	Net payroll tax contributions:
		Payroll tax contributionsb		$681,463
		Payments from the General Fund of the Treasury for payroll tax contributions subject to refundb		-2,676
			Net payroll tax contributionsb		678,787
	Reimbursements from the General Fund:
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-312, P.L. 112-78, and P.L. 112-96b		87
		Payroll tax credits due to P.L. 98-21b		c
			Net General Fund reimbursementsb		87
	Income based on taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		199
		All other, not subject to withholdingb		31,424
			Total income from taxation of benefitsb		31,623
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		86,962
		Interest adjustmentsd		-2
			Total investment income and interest adjustments		86,960
	Gifts				c
Total receipts					797,457
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Monthly benefits and lump-sum death paymentsa e		768,633
		Reimbursement from the General Fund for unnegotiated checks		-34
		Payment for costs of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries		4
			Net benefit paymentsa e		768,603
	Financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement “Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account”				4,287
	Administrative expenses:
		Costs incurred by:
			Social Security Administration	3,057
			Department of the Treasury	420
		Offsetting miscellaneous receipts		-3
		Miscellaneous reimbursements from the General Fund f		-5
			Net administrative expenses		3,469
Total disbursementsa					776,359
Net increase in asset reservesa					21,097
	Total invested assets			2,801,406
	Undisbursed balances g Undisbursed balances g			-57
Total asset reserves, December 31, 2016					2,801,349

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a

Benefit payments which were scheduled to be paid on January 3, 2016 were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the statutory provision for early delivery of benefit payments when the normal payment delivery date is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday. The amount of these payments made on an accelerated basis was approximately $19.7 billion. For comparability with the values for historical years and the projections in this report, all trust fund operations and asset reserves reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in each year without regard to the accelerated payments described above.

b

Includes adjustments for prior calendar years.

c

Between -$0.5 and $0.5 million.

d

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.

e

Includes net reductions for the recovery of overpayments.

f

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

8

A negative balance represents a situation where the actual program cash expenditures exceeded the amount of invested securities of the OASI Trust Fund that were redeemed to pay for such expenditures. In this situation, future redemption of additional invested securities will be required to pay for this shortfall.

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

Of the $776.4 billion in total OASI disbursements in 2016, $768.6 billion was for net benefit payments,³ including recovered overpayments, reimbursements from the General Fund for unnegotiated checks, and the reimbursable costs of vocational rehabilitation services.⁴ Net benefit payments increased by 3.5 percent from calendar year 2015 to calendar year 2016. Normally, net benefit payments increase because of (1) an increase in the total number of beneficiaries, (2) an increase in the average benefit amount resulting from the annual cost-of-living adjustment, and (3) the fact that new beneficiaries tend to have higher benefits than previous cohorts. For 2016, the second of these factors did not contribute to the increase in benefit payments because there was no automatic cost-of-living adjustment for December 2015.

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 in which they would have been 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 2016.

The remaining $3.5 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 2016, the cost incurred by the Social Security Administration to administer the OASI program was 88 percent of OASI net administrative expenses. The Social Security Administration charges such costs to the trust fund ($3.1 billion in 2016). In addition, the Department of the Treasury charges to the trust fund expenses ($0.4 billion in 2016) for services provided in administering the OASI program. A relatively small offset ($3 million in 2016) 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 2016) and with the provision of information to participants in certain pension plans ($1 million in 2016). These miscellaneous reimbursements totaled $5 million in 2016.

The asset reserves shown for the OASI Trust Fund at the end of calendar year 2016 totaled $2,801.3 billion, consisting of $2,801.4 billion in U.S. Government obligations and, as an offset, an extension of credit of $57 million against securities to be redeemed within the first few days of the following year. The effective annual rate of interest earned by the reserves in the OASI Trust Fund during calendar year 2016 was 3.1 percent, slightly lower than the 3.3 percent earned during calendar year 2015. 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 2015 and 2016.

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, 2016, so that the maturity dates of the total portfolio of special issues were spread evenly over the 15‑year period 2017 through 2031. The bonds purchased on that date have an interest rate of 1.875 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 2016, including the amounts of bonds purchased on June 30, 2016.

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 2016, 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 $160.0 billion in total receipts, $157.4 billion was net payroll tax contributions.

Of the $145.9 billion of total disbursements, $142.8 billion was net benefit payments.⁵ Net benefit payments decreased by 0.4 percent from calendar year 2015 to calendar year 2016. This decrease in DI benefit payments was primarily due to a decrease in the number of beneficiaries, which was partially offset by a slight increase in average benefit amounts. Non-interest income, and total income, exceeded total disbursements in 2016 due primarily to the temporary reallocation of the payroll tax rate from OASI to DI for years 2016 through 2018. DI total disbursements exceeded non-interest income from 2005 to 2015, and exceeded total income to the trust fund from 2009 to 2015.

Table III.A2.—Operations of the DI Trust Fund, Calendar Year 2016

[In millions]

Total asset reserves, December 31, 2015a					$32,259
Receipts:
	Net payroll tax contributions:
		Payroll tax contributionsb		$157,846
		Payments from the General Fund of the Treasury for payroll tax contributions subject to refundb		-454
			Net payroll tax contributionsb		157,391
	Reimbursements from the General Fund:
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-312, P.L. 112-78, and P.L. 112-96b		15
		Payroll tax credits due to P.L. 98-21b		c
			Net General Fund reimbursementsb		15
	Income based on taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		4
		All other, not subject to withholdingb		1,190
			Total income from taxation of benefitsb		1,194
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		1,390
		Interest adjustmentsd		6
			Total investment income and interest adjustments		1,396
	Gifts				c
Total receipts					159,996
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Monthly benefits a e		142,703
		Reimbursement from the General Fund for unnegotiated checks		-18
		Payment for costs of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries		97
			Net benefit paymentsa e		142,781
	Financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement “Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account”				376
	Administrative expenses:
		Costs incurred by:
			Social Security Administration	2,667
			Department of the Treasury	87
		Demonstration projects		10
		Miscellaneous reimbursements from the General Fundf		-4
			Net administrative expenses		2,760
Total disbursementsa					145,917
Net increase in asset reservesa					14,079
	Total invested assets			46,481
	Undisbursed balancesg			-143
Total asset reserves, December 31, 2016					46,338

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a

Benefit payments which were scheduled to be paid on January 3, 2016 were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the statutory provision for early delivery of benefit payments when the normal payment delivery date is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday. The amount of these payments made on an accelerated basis was approximately $6.1 billion. For comparability with the values for historical years and the projections in this report, all trust fund operations and asset reserves reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in each year without regard to the accelerated payments described above.

b

Includes adjustments for prior calendar years.

c

Between -$0.5 and $0.5 million.

d

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.

e

Includes net reductions for the recovery of overpayments.

f

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

g

A negative balance represents a situation where the actual program cash expenditures exceeded the amount of invested securities of the DI Trust Fund that were redeemed to pay for such expenditures. In this situation, future redemption of additional invested securities will be required to pay for this shortfall.

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

During 2016, the reserves in the DI Trust Fund increased by $14.1 billion, from $32.3 billion at the end of 2015 to $46.3 billion at the end of 2016. This $46.3 billion consisted of $46.5 billion in U.S. Government obligations and, as an offset, an extension of credit of $143 million against securities to be redeemed within the first few days of the following year. The effective annual rate of interest earned by the asset reserves in the DI Trust Fund during calendar year 2016 was 3.6 percent, somewhat lower than the 4.6 percent earned during calendar year 2015. Table VI.A5 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 2015 and 2016.

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. Each year, bond purchases for each trust fund are made on June 30, taking into account the projected reserve depletion date in the most recently available Trustees Report. 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 2016, 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, 2016, so that the bonds would mature over the 6-year period 2017-22. The bonds purchased have an interest rate of 1.875 percent, reflecting the average market yield, as of the last business day of the prior month, on the outstanding marketable U.S. obligations that are due or callable more than 4 years in the future. As of June 30, 2016, the DI Trust Fund had already redeemed all bonds coming due on June 30 in each of the years 2017 through 2021, so this investment approach required that all bond purchases on June 30, 2016 be split evenly over the maturity dates of June 30, 2017 through June 30, 2022. Table III.A7 shows details on investment transactions during 2016.

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 hypothetical combined basis.⁶ 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 2016 

[In millions]

Total asset reserves, December 31, 2015a					$2,812,510
Receipts:
	Net payroll tax contributions:
		Payroll tax contributionsb		$839,309
		Payments from the General Fund of the Treasury for payroll tax contributions subject to refundb		-3,131
			Net payroll tax contributionsb		836,178
	Reimbursements from the General Fund:
		Reduction in payroll tax contributions due to P.L. 111-312, P.L. 112-78, and P.L. 112-96b		102
		Payroll tax credits due to P.L. 98-21b		c
			Net General Fund reimbursementsb		102
	Income based on taxation of benefit payments:
		Withheld from benefit payments to nonresident aliens		203
		All other, not subject to withholdingb		32,614
			Total income from taxation of benefitsb		32,817
	Investment income and interest adjustments:
		Interest on investments		88,352
		Interest adjustments d		4
			Total investment income and interest adjustments		88,356
	Gifts				c
Total receipts					957,453
Disbursements:
	Benefit payments:
		Monthly benefits and lump-sum death paymentsa e		911,335
		Reimbursement from the General Fund for unnegotiated checks		-52
		Payment for costs of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries		101
			Net benefit paymentsa e		911,384
	Financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement “Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account”				4,663
	Administrative expenses:
		Costs incurred by:
			Social Security Administration	5,724
			Department of the Treasury	506
		Offsetting miscellaneous receipts		-3
		Demonstration projects		10
		Miscellaneous reimbursements from the General Fundf		-9
			Net administrative expenses		6,229
Total disbursementsa					922,276
Net increase in asset reservesa					35,177
	Total invested assetsa			2,847,887
	Undisbursed balancesa g			-200
Total asset reserves, December 31, 2016a					2,847,687

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a

Benefit payments which were scheduled to be paid on January 3, 2016 were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the statutory provision for early delivery of benefit payments when the normal payment delivery date is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday. The amount of these payments made on an accelerated basis was approximately $25.9 billion. For comparability with the values for historical years and the projections in this report, all trust fund operations and asset reserves reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in each year without regard to the accelerated payments described above.

b

Includes adjustments for prior calendar years.

c

Between -$0.5 and $0.5 million.

d

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.

e

Includes net reductions for the recovery of overpayments.

f

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

g

A negative balance represents a situation where the actual program cash expenditures exceeded the amount of invested securities of the OASI and DI Trust Funds that were redeemed to pay for such expenditures. In this situation, future redemption of additional invested securities will be required to pay for this shortfall.

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 2016 from the 2012 through 2016 Trustees Reports to the corresponding actual amounts for 2016.

Table III.A4.—Comparison of Actual Calendar Year 2016 Trust Fund Operations
With Estimates Made in Prior Reports, Based on Intermediate Assumptions ^a 

[Amounts in billions]

		Total incomeb			Total costc
		Amount	Difference from actual (percent)		Amount	Difference from actual (percent)
OASI Trust Fund:
	Estimate in 2012 report	$903.8	13.3		$823.3	6.0
	Estimate in 2013 report	881.1	10.5		822.4	5.9
	Estimate in 2014 report	858.8	7.7		807.5	4.0
	Estimate in 2015 report	838.6	5.2		788.5	1.6
	Estimate in 2016 report	786.7	-1.3		778.6	.3
	Actual amount	797.5	—		776.4	—
DI Trust Fund:
	Estimate in 2012 report	d	d		165.0	13.1
	Estimate in 2013 report	d	d		160.8	10.2
	Estimate in 2014 report	d	d		155.8	6.7
	Estimate in 2015 report	d	d		152.1	4.3
	Estimate in 2016 report	157.9	-1.3		150.2	3.0
	Actual amount	160.0	—		145.9	—
OASI and DI Trust Funds, combined:
	Estimate in 2012 report	1,034.6	8.1		988.4	7.2
	Estimate in 2013 report	1,010.9	5.6		983.2	6.6
	Estimate in 2014 report	985.3	2.9		963.3	4.4
	Estimate in 2015 report	962.6	.5		940.6	2.0
	Estimate in 2016 report	944.6	-1.3		928.9	.7
	Actual amount	957.5	—		922.3	—

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a

Percentage differences are calculated prior to rounding.

b

“Actual” income for 2016 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.

c

Benefit payments which were scheduled to be paid on January 3, 2016 were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the statutory provision for early delivery of benefit payments when the normal payment delivery date is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday. The amount of these payments made on an accelerated basis was approximately $19.7 billion for the OASI Trust Fund and $6.1 billion for the DI Trust Fund. For comparability with the values for historical years and the projections in this report, all trust fund operations and asset reserves reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in each year.

d

In the annual reports for each year 2012 through 2015, the DI Trust Fund was projected to become depleted in calendar year 2016 under the intermediate assumptions. Under those circumstances, scheduled benefits could not be paid in full on a timely basis, so that certain projected items of income such as income from taxing benefits and interest on trust fund reserves could not be meaningfully projected. Accordingly, total DI Trust Fund income was not reported for 2016 in those earlier reports. Following the tax rate reallocation enacted in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, we projected the depletion of the DI Trust Fund would not occur until 2022 and thus reported an estimate for total income in 2016. Appendix A presents a detailed description of the components of income and cost, along with complete historical values.

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 2016, the OASDI program was providing monthly benefits to about 60.9 million people. The OASI Trust Fund was providing benefits to about 50.3 million people and the DI Trust Fund was providing benefits to about 10.6 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 1.8 percent during calendar year 2016. These changes reflect the gradual aging of the population, with the earliest cohorts of the baby-boom generation now 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 2015 and 2016, by type of beneficiary, for each trust fund separately.

 

Table III.A5.—Distribution of Benefit Payments¹ by Type of Beneficiary or Payment, Calendar Years 2015 and 2016 

[Amounts in millions]

				Calendar year 2015			Calendar year 2016
				Amount	Percentage of total		Amount	Percentage of total
Total OASDI benefit payments				$886,221	100.0		$911,335	100.0
	OASI benefit payments			742,939	83.8		768,633	84.3
	DI benefit payments			143,282	16.2		142,703	15.7
OASI benefit payments, total				742,939	100.0		768,633	100.0
	Monthly benefits:
		Retired workers and auxiliaries		626,378	84.3		651,280	84.7
			Retired workers	592,423	79.7		616,003	80.1
			Spouses	28,760	3.9		29,895	3.9
			Children	5,195	.7		5,382	.7
		Survivors of deceased workers		116,352	15.7		117,148	15.2
			Aged widows and widowers	92,748	12.5		93,383	12.1
			Disabled widows and widowers	2,368	.3		2,373	.3
			Parents	21	2		21	b
			Children	19,597	2.6		19,805	2.6
			Widowed mothers and fathers caring for child beneficiaries	1,618	.2		1,568	.2
	Lump-sum death payments			209	b		204	b
DI benefit payments, total				143,282	100.0		142,703	100.0
		Disabled workers		133,945	93.5		133,644	93.7
		Spouses		588	.4		570	.4
		Children		8,749	6.1		8,489	5.9

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a

Benefit payments which were scheduled to be paid on January 3, 2016 were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the statutory provision for early delivery of benefit payments when the normal payment delivery date is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday. The amount of these payments made on an accelerated basis was approximately $19.7 billion for the OASI Trust Fund and $6.1 billion for the DI Trust Fund. For comparability with the values for historical years and the projections in this report, all trust fund operations and asset reserves reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in each year without regard to the accelerated payments described above.

b

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 2016 totaled $6.2 billion, equal to 0.7 percent each of total expenditures and non-interest income. Table III.A6 shows corresponding percentages for each trust fund separately and for OASDI as a whole for the last 5 years.

Table III.A6.—Administrative Expenses as a Percentage of Non-interest Income and of Total Expenditures, Calendar Years 2012-2016

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
2012	0.5	0.5		2.8	2.1		0.9	0.8
2013	.5	.5		2.6	1.9		.8	.7
2014	.5	.4		2.6	2.0		.8	.7
2015	.5	.4		2.4	1.9		.7	.7
2016	.5	.4		1.7	1.9		.7	.7

The acquisition and disposition of securities during calendar year 2016 changed the invested reserves of the OASI and DI Trust Funds. Table III.A7 presents investment transactions for each fund separately and combined.

 

Table III.A7.—Trust Fund Investment Transactions, Calendar Year 2016

[In millions]

			OASI Trust Fund	DI Trust Fund	OASI and DI Trust Funds, combined
Invested asset reserves, December 31, 2015a b			$2,760,518	$26,101	$2,786,619
Acquisitions:
	Special issues:
		Certificates of indebtedness	753,291	159,541	912,832
		Bondsc	220,605	18,068	238,673
		Total acquisitions	973,896	177,609	1,151,505
Dispositions:
	Special issues:
		Certificates of indebtedness	741,844	151,103	892,947
		Bonds	191,165	6,126	197,291
		Total dispositionsb	933,008	157,229	1,090,238
Net increase in invested asset reservesb			40,888	20,379	61,267
Invested asset reserves, December 31, 2016a			2,801,406	46,481	2,847,887

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a

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

b

Benefit payments which were scheduled to be paid on January 3, 2016 were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the statutory provision for early delivery of benefit payments when the normal payment delivery date is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal public holiday. The amount of these payments made on an accelerated basis was approximately $19.7 billion for the OASI Trust Fund and $6.1 billion for the DI Trust Fund. For comparability with the values for historical years and the projections in this report, all trust fund operations and asset reserves reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in each year without regard to the accelerated payments described above. Redemptions of special issues and invested asset reserves reflect the early redemption required in order to pay benefits on a timely basis as required by law.

c

Purchased on June 30, 2016. The interest rate on these purchases was 1.875 percent.

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

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1

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

2

In order to provide values that are comparable with other years, asset reserves shown for the end of 2015 reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in 2015 and thus exclude the benefits scheduled for payment on January 3, 2016, which were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the law.

3

As noted in footnote a of table III.A1 and elsewhere in this report, benefit payments shown for 2016 reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in 2016 and thus include the benefits scheduled for payment on January 3, 2016, which were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the law.

4

Vocational rehabilitation services under the OASI program 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.

5

As noted in footnote a of table III.A2, and elsewhere in this report, benefit payments shown for 2016 reflect the 12 months of benefits scheduled for payment in 2016 and thus include the benefits scheduled for payment on January 3, 2016, which were actually paid on December 31, 2015 as required by the law.

6

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 hypothetical basis.