Government Shutdown FAQs

As of 12:00 AM ET, October 1, 2025, the federal government is shut down. Below, you can find a list of FAQs regarding the ongoing government shutdown.

 

Q: What is a government shutdown?

A: A federal government shutdown occurs when the enactment of annual appropriations (agency funding) does not occur before the beginning of a fiscal year.

 

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

Q: What is an “excepted” employee?

A: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) defines an excepted employee as: “employees whose work is funded through annual appropriations but who are not furloughed because they are performing tasks that, by law, are allowed to continue during a lapse in appropriations. Such tasks may include emergency work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property or the performance of certain other types of “excepted work activities” as defined in DOJ and OMB guidance. Each agency will identify excepted employees.

 

Q: What if I am not an excepted employee?

A: Employees whose work is neither “excepted” nor “exempt” will be furloughed.

 

Q: Will I receive pay for work performed during a shutdown period? What if I am furloughed?

A: According to OPM: Yes. After the lapse in appropriations has ended, employees who were required to perform excepted work during the lapse will receive retroactive pay for those work periods. Retroactive pay is provided at the employee’s “standard rate of pay.” If the retroactive pay cannot be provided on the normal pay date for the given pay period, it must be provided at the earliest date possible after the lapse ends.

Furloughed employees (those barred from working during the shutdown) will receive their “standard rate of pay” after the lapse in appropriations has ended. (Note: furloughed employees are not entitled to retroactive pay if previously scheduled to be in nonpay status, such as leave without pay (LWOP).

 

Q: I am a retiree. Will this affect my pension?

 A: Military and federal retirees will continue to receive their retirement benefits. Processing new applications or other requested changes will be delayed.

Additional information can be found on this OPM webpage.

 

BENEFITS

Q: Will my Social Security checks be affected?

A: No. While SSDI, SSI and retirement checks will continue to be paid without interruption, some SSA services may be discontinued. However, the processing of disability applications may be affected as DDS will be directed to “continue limited services during a lapse under the Necessary Implication exception with the understanding that we will reimburse the DDSs for their work once we receive funding.” Discontinued services include Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests, benefit verifications, replacement Medicare cards, and more.

 

Q: Will a shutdown affect Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP?

A: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Program will continue during a lapse in appropriations. Other non-discretionary activities including Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control and Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation activities will also continue. CMS will maintain the staff necessary to make payments to eligible states for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  

 

Q: I receive SNAP benefits. Will I be affected?

A: Though SNAP benefits are part of mandatory funding, the program can quickly run out in a prolonged (more than 30 days) shutdown. 

 

Q: I am a Veteran. Will this affect my VA benefits?

A: Generally, no. Veteran medical care and critical services within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) will continue, as they are financed with advance appropriations. This will include suicide prevention programs, homelessness programs, the Veterans Crisis Line and caregiver support. The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) will continue various benefit functions, such as Education Benefit Claims processing and payments, insurance processing, loan guaranty programs, Veteran Readiness and Employment payment processing, VBA National Call Centers (except for Education), Compensation and Pension Claims processing and payments, Decision Review Operations Centers and management. These functions will continue as necessarily implied to prevent significant disruption to mandatory benefits programs.

 

OTHER SERVICES

Q: Will I still receive my mail?

A: Yes, the USPS will not be impacted during a federal government shutdown. 

 

Q: Will my immigration case be affected?

A: Immigration activities that are fee-funded are not expected to be affected. 

 

Q: How will passport issuance be affected?

A: Passport services will continue. However, they may be delayed in a prolonged shutdown.

 

Q: Will FHA endorse single family loans during a shutdown?

A: FHA will be able to endorse single family loans, with the exception of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) and Title I loans, during the shutdown. A limited number of FHA staff will be available to endorse new loans. Due to limited staff, the time to endorse the cases may be extended.

 

Q: What about homeowners with FHA-insured mortgages facing foreclosure?

A: Most loss mitigation for homeowners facing foreclosure (including FHA loan modifications, FHA-HAMP, etc.) will continue.

 

For more information on how a federal government shutdown may affect you, please refer to each federal agency's contingency plan. This list will be updated as more resources become available: