Facts on the Social Security
by John Goodman

• This year for the first time in recent history, the federal government will have to use general revenue to pay Social Security and Medicare benefits – about $45 billion, or 3.6 percent of federal income taxes.

• The general revenue requirement as a share of income taxes will double in less than five years; and five years beyond that, it will double again.

• In 10 years, one out of every 7 income tax dollars will be needed; in 15 years, we will need one in every four.

• By 2030, about the mid-point of the baby boom retirement years, we will need more than half of federal income tax revenues to pay promised benefits.

• By 2040, we will need two of every three income tax dollars; by 2050, three of every four.

• By 2070, the unfunded deficits in Social Security and Medicare will require 100 percent of federal income taxes.

John Goodman, President, National Center for Policy Analysis