title: Social Security Agency (Northern Ireland)
text: # Social Security Agency (Northern Ireland)
  
  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.
  
  