Romina Boccia
Romina Boccia and Ivane Nachkebia
This Thursday, Cato is hosting the Social Security Symposium: A Global Perspective from 8:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (EST). You can join us in person at the Cato headquarters in Washington DC (breakfast and lunch will be served) or tune in online. We hope to see you there!
Social Security, the largest federal government program, is unsustainable as currently structured. Social Security consists of Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI). Unless stated otherwise, Social Security will refer to OASI in this document. This fact sheet lays out key fiscal details legislators and the public should know about Social Security to help them examine the unsustainability of this massive federal entitlement program.
Social Security is the single largest federal government program, spending $1.2 trillion in 2023 or 4.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Social Security spending will nearly double and reach $2.1 trillion or 5.2 percent of GDP by 2033. By then, the government will spend more on Social Security annually than on the entire defense and nondefense discretionary budget.
For the first time in the program’s history, the number of beneficiaries will exceed 60 million by 2025.
The average monthly benefit for an individual was $1,760 in 2023.
The maximum monthly benefit for an individual is $4,873.
Because initial benefit levels are indexed to wage growth, Social Security benefits are growing much faster than inflation. A maximum‐benefit‐eligible beneficiary retiring in 2045 would receive over $23,000 more in annual benefits that year, after adjusting for inflation, than a comparable worker who retired in 2020.
Since the program’s inception, life expectancy at birth has increased by nearly 16 years. Yet, Social Security’s eligibility age has only increased by 2 years.
The ratio of covered workers to Social Security beneficiaries has declined from 41.9 in 1945 to 3.1 in 2024, » Read More
https://www.cato.org/blog/fast-facts-about-social-security