The flowchart below gives a simplified overview of how taxes, and adjustments to those taxes, flow into the Social Security Trust Funds. The main players in the process are employers, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of the Treasury. In the flowchart, "FICA" refers to taxes on wages defined in the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, and "SECA" refers to self-employment taxes defined in the Self Employment Contributions Act. See the table below the flowchart for other acronyms.

Flowchart: click on flowchart for narrative

Acronyms for organizations in flowchart
AcronymOrganization
BEA Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce
BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor
BFS Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Department of the Treasury
IRS Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury
OMB Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President
OTA Office of Tax Analysis, Department of the Treasury
SSA Social Security Administration