Monthly Statistical Snapshot, December 2011

(released January 2012)

For more detailed monthly OASDI information, visit the Actuary's website for Beneficiary Data. For more detailed monthly SSI information, see SSI Monthly Statistics.

Table 1.
Number of people receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, or both, December 2011
(in thousands)
Type of beneficiary Total Social Security only SSI only Both Social Security
and SSI
All beneficiaries 60,765 52,652 5,361 2,752
Aged 65 or older 39,191 37,132 899 1,160
Disabled, under age 65 a 13,761 7,707 4,462 1,592
Other b 7,813 7,813 . . . . . .
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Master Beneficiary Record, 100 percent data. Social Security Administration, Supplemental Security Record, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are for the end of the specified month. Only Social Security beneficiaries in current-payment status are included.
. . . = not applicable.
a. Includes children receiving SSI on the basis of their own disability.
b. Social Security beneficiaries who are neither aged nor disabled (for example, early retirees, young survivors).
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 2.
Social Security benefits, December 2011
Type of beneficiary Beneficiaries Total monthly
benefits
(millions of dollars)		 Average monthly
benefit (dollars)
Number
(thousands)		 Percent
All beneficiaries 55,404 100.0 62,213 1,122.90
Old-Age Insurance
Retired workers 35,599 64.3 43,736 1,228.60
Spouses 2,292 4.1 1,392 607.50
Children 594 1.1 358 602.70
Survivors Insurance
Widow(er)s and parents a 4,241 7.7 4,903 1,156.10
Widowed mothers and fathers b 158 0.3 139 883.50
Children 1,907 3.4 1,494 783.10
Disability Insurance
Disabled workers 8,576 15.5 9,524 1,110.50
Spouses 164 0.3 49 298.60
Children 1,874 3.4 619 330.20
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Master Beneficiary Record, 100 percent data.
NOTES: Data are for the end of the specified month. Only beneficiaries in current-payment status are included.
Some Social Security beneficiaries are entitled to more than one type of benefit. In most cases, they are dually entitled to a worker benefit and a higher spouse or widow(er) benefit. If both benefits are financed from the same trust fund, the beneficiary is usually counted only once in the statistics, as a retired-worker or a disabled-worker beneficiary, and the benefit amount recorded is the larger amount associated with the auxiliary benefit. If the benefits are paid from different trust funds the beneficiary is counted twice, and the respective benefit amounts are recorded for each type of benefit.
a. Includes nondisabled widow(er)s aged 60 or older, disabled widow(er)s aged 50 or older, and dependent parents of deceased workers aged 62 or older.
b. A widow(er) or surviving divorced parent caring for the entitled child of a deceased worker who is under age 16 or is disabled.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.
Table 3.
Supplemental Security Income recipients, December 2011
Age Recipients Total payments a
(millions of dollars)		 Average monthly
payment b (dollars)
Number (thousands) Percent
All recipients 8,113 100.0 4,390 501.60
Under 18 1,277 15.7 812 601.40
18–64 4,777 58.9 2,744 517.40
65 or older 2,059 25.4 833 403.20
SOURCE: Social Security Administration, Supplemental Security Record, 100 percent data.
NOTE: Data are for the end of the specified month.
a. Includes retroactive payments.
b. Excludes retroactive payments.
CONTACT: (410) 965-0090 or statistics@ssa.gov.