Social Security

Social Security began running deficits in 2010, paying out $48.9 billion more in benefits than it received through payroll taxes. Nor will these deficits ever end, so that without reforms, Social Security will help fuel our spending and debt crisis. By transitioning to a flat benefit and targeting Social Security benefits to those who are most in need, Social Security can fulfill its original purpose as an insurance against senior poverty without placing unbearable financial burdens on younger generations. Americans are living longer and spending more years in retirement than ever before. By gradually increasing the retirement age and then indexing it to life expectancy, we can create a more reasonable balance between a person’s working years and the years he or she receives Social Security benefits.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Saving the American Dream Saving the American Dream

    The Heritage Foundation offers a detailed plan to redesign entitlement programs, guarantee assistance to those who need it, and save the American dream for future generations. Read More.

  • The Entitlement Crisis The Entitlement Crisis

    Entitlements—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—threaten to bankrupt the nation. The unsustainable tsunami of spending on these programs will accelerate as 77 million baby boomers flood into them. Read More.

Our Research & Offerings on Social Security
Find more work on Social Security
  • Special Report posted May 10, 2011 by Stuart Butler, Ph.D., Alison Acosta Fraser, William Beach Saving the American Dream: The Heritage Plan to Fix the Debt, Cut Spending, and Restore Prosperity

    Saving the American Dream is The Heritage Foundation’s plan to fix the debt, cut spending and, above all, restore prosperity. It balances the nation’s budget within a decade—and keeps it balanced. It reduces the debt and cuts government…

  • Backgrounder on February 28, 2012 President Obama’s 2013 Budget Delivers Tax Hikes, More Spending, More Debt

    Abstract: The President’s 2013 budget, released on February 13, repeats the stale and unsuccessful policies of the past three years. The Administration’s apparent vision is one of bigger government, more spending, higher taxes, and deeper deficits. At a time when runaway spending and swelling…

  • Backgrounder posted March 2, 2005 by David John How Today's Social Security Works

    Social Security is probably the most popular federal program, yet most people know almost nothing about it. In practice, Social Security's complex benefit formulas and rules make it difficult for people to understand how their retirement benefits will work. This paper explains what Social Security is and how it works. The first section explains what Social…

  • Issue Brief posted March 21, 2012 by Alison Acosta Fraser, Patrick Louis Knudsen The Ryan Budget: Confronting the Nation’s Spending Crisis

    In the few months since Washington’s dramatic debt ceiling confrontation, America’s fiscal situation has only worsened. Federal spending is set to soar past previous record-shattering levels, endangering the economic future of the nation. This is a moral issue because younger generations will be forced to bear either staggering levels of…

  • Backgrounder posted October 28, 2010 by Brian Riedl How to Cut $343 Billion from the Federal Budget

    Abstract : Federal spending is on an unsustainable path that risks disaster for America. Runaway spending has increased annual…

  • Center for Data Analysis Report posted October 14, 2010 by William Beach, Patrick Tyrrell The 2010 Index of Dependence on Government

    Abstract: The number of Americans who pay taxes continues to shrink—and the United States is close to the point at which half of the population will not pay taxes for government benefits…

  • Backgrounder posted June 21, 2010 by Brian Riedl The Three Biggest Myths About Tax Cuts and the Budget Deficit

    Abstract: The annual federal budget deficit is projected to reach 8.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020—more than three times the historical average of 2.3 percent. This dramatic increase in the federal deficit will be exclusively the result of increasing spending, not…

  • Center for Data Analysis Report posted January 15, 1998 by William Beach, Gareth Davis Social Security's Rate of Return

    What can Americans expect in future Social Security retirement benefits? A Heritage Foundation study reveals that the Social Security system's rate of return for most Americans will be vastly inferior to what they could expect from placing their payroll taxes in even the most conservative private investments. For the low-income African-American male…

  • Backgrounder posted February 22, 2010 by John Ligon Payroll Tax Holiday: Adding to Growing Social Security Deficits

    Abstract: The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act could be considered an excellent piece of legislation--if, that is, the goal of the legislation was to ensure massive Social Security deficits without creating a single new job. Yet another attempt by the federal government to coerce companies into hiring more…

  • Backgrounder posted November 22, 2010 by David John Time to Raise Social Security’s Retirement Age

    Abstract: Americans are living longer, which means they are spending a higher proportion of their lives in retirement, receiving Social Security payments. Yet the government program is a mere five years away from being unable to pay out all of the claims it has promised. Because today’s retirees enjoy…

Find more work on Social Security
Find more work on Social Security
Find more work on Social Security