As Social Security celebrates its 90th anniversary, the program remains one of the most significant and far-reaching functions of the U.S. government. With nearly every working American contributing through payroll taxes and over 55 million retirees receiving benefits, it serves as a vital lifeline for older adults, the disabled, and survivors. Beyond retirement, the Social Security Administration (SSA) also handles the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, assisting more than 7.4 million low-income individuals.
Despite its popularity, 79% of Americans in a 2024 Pew survey oppose benefit cuts. Social Security is confronting multiple headwinds. Chief among them is a projected depletion of the retirement trust fund by 2033. The SSA has also seen staff reductions under the Trump administration, with its workforce shrinking to just over 58,000 employees in 2024. These constraints are reportedly impacting its ability to efficiently manage benefits and claims for millions of Americans.
How Social Security Operates and Who It Serves
Social Security is primarily funded through a 12.4% payroll tax, split evenly between employees and employers, or paid in full by self-employed individuals. Most of this revenue, 85.5%, supports retirement and survivor benefits, while the remaining 14.5% goes toward disability payments. In 2023, nearly 183 million Americans, roughly 93% of the workforce, contributed to the system. Social Security also generates income through Treasury bond interest and taxation of some benefits, accumulating a total of $1.35 trillion in 2023.
As of April 2025, 73.9 million Americans were receiving benefits from at least one SSA program. This includes 52.6 million retirees, 7.2 million disabled workers, and 5.8 million survivors, among others. Notably, 86.9% of Americans over 65 and 92.6% of those over 75 received some form of Social Security benefit in 2022. On average, a retired worker received $1,999.97 in April 2025. That year, total annual payments reached $1.38 trillion, 22.5% of all federal spending.
Many Americans depend heavily on these benefits: in 2022, 63.2% of adult beneficiaries relied on Social Security for at least half their income, while 27% depended on it exclusively. While the program reduces senior poverty, only 7.8% of recipients lived below the poverty line compared to 9.7% of nonrecipients. SSI recipients face greater hardship, with one-third living in poverty.
Demographic Shifts and the Road Ahead
Social Security operates on a pay-as-you-go model, meaning current workers fund today’s beneficiaries. However, demographic trends are tipping this balance. In 1965, four workers supported each beneficiary; by 2023, that number dropped to 2.7. Projections estimate just 2.1 workers per beneficiary by century’s end, straining the system further.
Since 2021, the retirement program has paid out more than it collects, using reserves from the trust fund to cover the gap. The retirement trust fund peaked at $2.82 trillion in 2017 and fell to $2.5 trillion by 2024. Depending on economic trends, it could be depleted as early as 2031, though 2033 remains the most likely date. If no reforms are made, incoming revenue would only cover about 79% of scheduled benefits post-depletion.
To avert this, lawmakers could consider changes such as raising payroll taxes, increasing the taxable earnings cap, adjusting retirement age, or modifying cost-of-living formulas. Yet any move to reduce benefits faces stiff public resistance, with eight in ten Americans expressing opposition to cuts. The path forward will demand difficult political decisions to ensure Social Security’s sustainability for future generations.
Visit Enterprise Wired for the Most Recent Information.
