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Is Social Security Spending Sustainable?

Is Social Security Spending Sustainable?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) projects that nearly 68 million people will receive benefits monthly in 2024.

In December 2023, that total was 67.1 million, including:

  • 50.1 million retired workers and their 2.6 million dependents
  • 7.4 million disabled workers and their 1.1 million dependents
  • 5.8 million survivors

That month, nearly nine in ten people ages 65 and older were enrolled.

How is Social Security funded?

The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance trust funds, which were worth a combined $2.8 trillion at the end of 2023, fund Social Security.

US workers pay into the trust funds through payroll taxes and employers match these contributions. Self-employed people are taxed at twice the rate. The SSA estimates that 183 million workers contributed $1.2 trillion to the trust funds in 2023. The funds also generated $51 billion from income taxes on benefits and $67 billion on interest.

In 2023, the trust funds that support Social Security ran a deficit, depleting the funds by $41 billion.

Is Social Security sustainable?

The aging population poses a challenge for Social Security, a system designed for — among other purposes — the nation’s workers to support its retirees. The SSA expects the population number of Americans 65 and older to grow 29% from about 58 million in 2022 to about 75 million in 2035.

In May 2024, the SSA projected that the trust funds supporting Social Security could be depleted by 2035 barring any intervention.

Dataset

YearRetired workers and dependentsSurvivorsDisabled workers and dependents
19701656667464686212665629
19711718803566995312929900
19721787017569339983271486
19731879303971599323560706
19741940956072542283911951
19752014073173684394352498
19762071502174966494623827
19772147651775923754854206
19782200646875779834868576
19792261789876178424777218
19802324307876008364682172
19812385904776147274456274
19822436248174418493973465
19832497147272495743812930
19842543575371810173821804
19852595858571609443907169
19862652480671653493993279
19872697008071563814044724
19882737581471627894074300
19892784233071699234128827
19902836138571973264265981
19912881848372553514513040
19922930117873126324889696
19932963511773545795253566
19942991426573840665583519
19953014041873881585857656
19963031086573532846072034
19973063786371797906153039
19983081349170974456334570
19993102770170440506523730
20003175609969852446673362
20013204580069184226913243
20023234797468750547221268
20033263333568096887595452
20043300484467335977949272
20053346722566528978314314
20063393757665658658619385
20073445003464945738920371
20083516851564560429273839
20093641678164096409696398
201037487862635834910185886
201138484666630541610614398
201239611707625558210890896
201340801365618897610988269
201441947747612831910931092
201543073398608356110806466
201644266144603109310610070
201745497828599428010411252
201846803244594049010162488
20194822702059120089925468
20204935783258746489618387
20215014611158640479218080
20225129307058606548840733
20235272981958334238513724
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