The short answer: no president took money from the SSDI trust fund itself

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) has its own separate trust fund, kept apart from the retirement fund by law. No president has the power to withdraw money from it for other purposes. What sometimes gets confused with "taking money" is something different: Congress has occasionally shifted money between the retirement trust fund and the disability trust fund when one was running low, and presidents have signed those bills into law.

The disability fund faced a real crisis in 2016 when it was projected to run out of money. Congress passed a law that moved funds from the retirement side to the disability side to prevent benefit cuts. This was not a president taking money—it was Congress rebalancing two separate accounts within the same system, a power only Congress has.

Key Takeaways

  • SSDI has its own trust fund separate from retirement benefits, and presidents cannot withdraw from it for unrelated purposes.
  • In 2016, Congress moved money from the retirement trust fund to the disability trust fund to prevent SSDI benefit cuts—this required a law, not a presidential order.
  • The disability fund faces real financial pressure because fewer workers pay into it relative to the number of people drawing from it.
  • Confusion about "taking money" often comes from misunderstanding how Congress manages the two trust funds or from political claims that oversimplify the system.

How the SSDI trust fund actually works

When you work and pay Social Security taxes, that money goes into one of two places: the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund, or the Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund. The split is automatic—your employer withholds 6.2% of your wages for Social Security, and the Social Security Administration divides it based on how many people are drawing disability versus retirement benefits at any given time.

The law that created this system (passed in 1956) set up the disability fund as completely separate from retirement money. A president cannot move money out of the disability fund any more than they could move money out of Medicare or Medicaid without Congress passing a new law. The trust funds are not general Treasury accounts that a president controls.

The 2016 reallocation: what Congress actually did

In November 2015, the Social Security Administration announced that the disability trust fund would be depleted by late 2016 if nothing changed. When a trust fund runs out, the system can only pay benefits from incoming payroll taxes—which would have meant an automatic 21% cut to all SSDI payments starting in 2017.

Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 in December 2015, which President Obama signed. The law allowed the Social Security Administration to shift money from the retirement trust fund to the disability trust fund. This was not new money—it was moving funds between two accounts within the same system. Congress has done this before: in 1983, after the retirement fund faced a similar crisis, Congress passed a law that allowed a temporary reallocation to the disability fund.

This action required a vote in both the House and Senate. No president can do this alone. The 2015 reallocation bought time and prevented the 21% cut, but it did not solve the underlying problem: the disability fund still faces long-term pressure because the ratio of workers to beneficiaries keeps shifting.

Why the disability fund runs into trouble

The disability fund is smaller than the retirement fund and serves a different population. Fewer people draw disability benefits than draw retirement benefits, so fewer payroll taxes flow into the disability side. At the same time, the number of people on SSDI has grown, and people are living longer, which means they collect benefits for more years.

The Social Security Trustees (a group that includes the Treasury Secretary and reports to Congress) project that without changes, the combined trust funds will be depleted around 2033. At that point, incoming payroll taxes would cover only about 80% of scheduled benefits. This is a structural problem with the system itself, not something a president caused or can fix alone.

Where the "taking money" claim comes from

Political figures sometimes describe the 2015 reallocation as a president or Congress "raiding" the disability fund or "taking money" from disabled people. This language is misleading. The reallocation moved money from one trust fund to another, both of which are funded by the same payroll tax. It did not reduce the total amount available to either group—it prevented a cut to disability benefits by temporarily using money that would have gone to future retirees.

Some people also confuse trust fund transfers with general government spending. Social Security is not funded from the general Treasury. It is funded entirely by payroll taxes on workers and employers. When people say a president "took" Social Security money, they sometimes mean the president's administration borrowed from the trust funds or spent general Treasury money—but that is not how Social Security works.

What actually threatens SSDI benefits

The real threat to SSDI is not a president taking money, but the math of the system itself. The ratio of workers to beneficiaries has shrunk. In 1960, there were about 5 workers for every person drawing Social Security. Today, there are about 3 workers for every beneficiary. As the population ages and birth rates stay low, that ratio keeps falling.

Congress would need to change the law to address this long-term problem. Options include raising the payroll tax rate, raising the cap on wages subject to the tax, raising the full retirement age, means-testing benefits, or some combination of these. No president can make these changes alone, and no president has "taken" money from SSDI in the sense of pocketing it or spending it on something else.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Trump take money from Social Security Disability?

No. President Trump did not have the power to withdraw money from the SSDI trust fund. In 2020, he signed an executive order deferring payroll taxes for some workers, which temporarily reduced money flowing into Social Security, but this was a different issue from taking money out of the disability fund itself. Congress did not pass legislation allowing any reallocation during his term.

Did Biden take money from Social Security Disability?

No. President Biden has not signed any law reallocating money from the disability trust fund. The disability fund remains separate, and only Congress can move money between the trust funds. Any changes to Social Security would require a law passed by both the House and Senate.

Can a president reduce SSDI benefits?

A president cannot unilaterally cut SSDI benefits. Benefits are set by law, and only Congress can change them. A president can propose changes or sign a bill Congress passes, but they cannot reduce benefits on their own authority.

What happens if the disability trust fund runs out of money?

If the disability trust fund is depleted and Congress does not act, the Social Security Administration can only pay benefits from incoming payroll taxes. This would result in an automatic reduction to all SSDI payments—currently projected at around 21% if depletion occurs without legislative action. Congress would likely pass a law before this happens, as it has in the past.