Social Security Agency (Northern Ireland) Explained

The Social Security Agency is a government agency in Northern Ireland. It is a department within the Department for Communities (DfC), dealing with social security.

Services

The SSA deal with the benefits given to people who may be unemployed, supporting children under 16, unemployed with medical conditions etc. Their main goals are to:

• Assess and pay social security benefits accurately and securely
• Give advice and information about these benefits
• Handle reviews and appeals
• Prevent and detect benefit fraud, prosecute offenders and recover any benefit which has been paid incorrectly
• Recover benefit which has been paid in compensation cases
• Assess people’s financial circumstances if they are applying for legal aid

Location

The SSA's headquarters are located on the Stormont estate, close to Parliament Buildings. Their service extends to all of Northern Ireland, but also to 3 districts within London through back-office services on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

See also

• List of Government departments and agencies in Northern Ireland

External links

• SSA Homepage
• Department for Social Development