FACT SHEET ON THE OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS, AND DISABILITY INSURANCE PROGRAM

A. Beneficiaries in Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008

Type of benefit Number of
beneficiaries
[In thousands]
Monthly
rate
[In millions]
Average
monthly
amount
Total50,898$53,666a
Retired workers and their family members, total35,16938,853a
Retired workers32,27337,207$1,153
Spouses2,3701,348569
Children525298568
Survivors of deceased workers, total6,4566,336a
Children1,9151,427745
Widowed mothers and fathers with child beneficiaries in their care160133835
Aged widow(er)s, and aged parents4,1524,6181,112
Disabled widow(er)s230157684
Disabled workers and their family members, total9,2748,478a
Disabled workers7,4277,8961,063
Spouses15544285
Children1,692537318
a Since the benefit amounts for workers and for the various types of family members and survivors are based on different proportions of the worker's benefit, average monthly amounts for groups of these different kinds of beneficiaries are not meaningful.

B. Selected Categories of Beneficiaries (Included Above) in
Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008

Type of benefit Number of
beneficiaries
[In thousands]
Monthly
rate
[In millions]
Disabled beneficiaries (OASDI)—Workers, disabled children aged 18 and over, and disabled widow(er)s8,529$8,647
Children (OASDI)4,1322,263
Student children14292
Disabled children aged 18 and over871594
Children under age 183,1181,577
Survivor children and widowed mothers and fathers2,0741,560
Beneficiaries aged 62 and over (OASDI)40,27544,827
Beneficiaries aged 65 and over (OASDI)35,81940,242

C. Average Monthly Family Benefits in
Current-Payment Status, December 31, 2008

Selected family a group Number of
families
[In thousands]
Average
family
benefit
Average
number of
beneficiaries
per family
Retired worker alone29,570$1,1401.000
Retired worker and spouse, aged 62 and over2,2571,8772.000
Disabled worker, spouse under full retirement age, and 1 or more children731,7953.944
Widowed parent and 2 children502,3723.000
Children of deceased workerb1,1539831.333
Aged widow(er) alone3,9731,1121.000
a A family means beneficiaries entitled on one worker's account.
b In most cases, the family includes a widowed parent whose benefits are withheld due to earnings.

D. Measures of Protection

  1. Coverage
    About 162 million people will work in OASDI-covered employment in 2009.

    About 94 percent of workers in paid employment and self-employment are covered under the OASDI program.

  2. Benefit receipt among the elderly
    As of December 31, 2008, about 90 percent of the population aged 65 and over were receiving benefits.
  3. Protection for survivors of young workers
    About 97 percent of persons aged 20-49 who worked in covered employment in 2008 have acquired survivorship protection for their children under age 18 (and surviving spouses caring for children under age 16).
  4. Disability protection
    About 91 percent of persons aged 21-64 who worked in covered employment in 2008 can count on monthly cash benefits if they suffer a severe and prolonged disability.

E. Operations of OASI and DI Trust Funds, Combined
[In billions]




Calendar
year
2007
Fiscal
year
2008
Cumulative 1937 through end of —
Calendar year 2007 Fiscal year 2008
Income$784.9$802.7$12,253.4$12,849.4
Contributions656.1671.210,898.311,423.3
Other128.8131.51,355.11,426.1
Expenditures594.5617.010,014.910,483.1
Benefit payments584.9607.29,806.810,266.6
OASI489.1503.08,532.08,912.7
DI95.9104.21,274.71,353.9
Other9.69.8208.2216.6
Assets, end of period2,238.52,366.32,238.52,366.3
Note: Totals may not equal the sums of rounded components.