Is Social Security running out? | USAFacts
How is Social Security funded?
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) trust funds, which were worth a combined $2.56 trillion at the end of 2025, 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 — essentially paying as the employer and as the employee. The SSA estimates that workers contributed $1.32 trillion to the trust funds in 2025. The funds also generated $58 billion from income taxes on benefits and $69 billion on interest.
In June 2026, the SSA projected that the trust funds combined reserves—OASI and DI—could be depleted by 2034, barring any intervention from Congress, at which point only about 83% of scheduled benefits could be covered by incoming revenue. They further projected that OASI could face depletion in the fourth quarter of 2032.
The nation’s population is aging, posing a challenge for the Social Security system, which is designed for — among other purposes — its workers to support its retirees. The model relies on some level of balance between workers paying into the trust funds and beneficiaries receiving those funds.
In recent years, though, that balance has been impacted by three factors in particular:
- More people reaching retirement age
- Relatively fewer entering the workforce
- People living longer into retirement