AARP Hearing Center
Paul Spella (Getty Images, 3)
Social Security has always been about numbers, ever since it was established 90 years ago this month by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signature on a historic act of Congress.
You work 10 years, earn 40 Social Security credits, and you are eligible for benefits when you retire. A complex mathematical formula determines how much you’ll get each month. A 12.4 payroll tax on almost all U.S. workers’ income provides the funding that keeps benefits flowing to (as of June 2025) more than 69 million Americans. A unique nine-digit code assigned to each of us keeps it all straight.
More Ways to Benefit
- Related Benefit 1
- Related Benefit 2
- Related Benefit 3
- Related Benefit 4
- Related Benefit 5
Those are the basics. Behind the numbers lies a deeper story of how Social Security has grown into the largest federal program and one of the most popular and how cascading demographic and economic changes are threatening the program’s ability to meet its full commitment to retirees and their families.
Here are eight key numbers, with accompanying infographics, that illustrate Social Security's evolution, where it is today, and where it might be headed unless lawmakers take action to keep the program's promise to all Americans.
182.8 million
More than 67 million people, or nearly 1 in 5 Americans, were receiving a monthly Social Security payment at the end of 2023, according to Social Security Administration (SSA) data. (The number has since risen as federal legislation enacted in late 2024 restored full benefits to many former government workers who had their Social Security reduced or eliminated by a pension offset.)
But they are far from the only ones for whom the state of the Social Security system matters greatly. Nearly 183 million workers — about 54 percent of the population — pay into Social Security via dedicated taxes on wages and self-employment income. That number has increased almost fourfold since 1950 as the U.S. workforce has expanded and diversified.
1975
In 1972, Congress passed legislation mandating an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security payments, effective three years later. For the program’s first 40 years, benefits stayed the same unless Congress approved an inflation adjustment. For the past 50 years, COLAs have been automatic, based on year-to-year changes in consumer prices. The dotted line on the graph shows the sharp upward trajectory in the average retirement benefit since then. Even when adjusted for inflation (the solid line), payments have steadily risen.
The COLA is imperfect — it can lag behind sharp spikes in inflation, for example, and some critics say the federal inflation measure used to calculate it doesn’t accurately capture older Americans’ expenses. But it does guarantee that, unlike most 401(k) plans, Social Security benefits provide protection over time against rising prices.
51%
The minimum eligibility age for claiming Social Security retirement benefits is 62, but if you file between then and your full retirement age (currently between 66 and 67, depending on your year of birth), your monthly payment amount is permanently reduced. A slight majority of claimants (50 percent of men, 52 percent of women) do just that, accepting lower payments to start getting Social Security sooner.
Still, that’s a significant decline from 20 years earlier, when about three-quarters of claims were filed early. That fits with federal workforce data showing that a growing number of Americans are putting off retirement and working longer — though fewer than 1 in 10 wait long enough to secure their maximum benefit.
23.1%
The United States is getting older and, by historical standards, it’s happening fast. In 1950, amid the postwar baby boom, just 8 percent of the U.S. population was 65 or older, according to UN data. In 2023, with the last of the boomers closing in on retirement age and expected to live considerably longer than their predecessors, that share had more than doubled to 17.4 percent, and it is projected to top 23 percent by 2050.
That means millions more people are receiving Social Security and doing so for longer than their parents and grandparents. And not just in the parts of the country where retirees flock: The Census Bureau estimates that the share of the population age 65-plus grew in all 50 states from 2020 to 2024, while the share of those under 18 — the future workers who will fund Social Security — declined.
66%
In a 2005 AARP survey on public attitudes and opinions about Social Security, just over half of retirees reported relying on their benefits for a substantial portion of their income. In the latest version of that every-five-years poll, conducted in June 2025, that figure climbed to two-thirds.
For past generations, retirement security famously was a “three-legged stool” — pensions, savings and Social Security. But pensions have become rare, especially in the private sector, and many low- and moderate-income families struggle to save enough to meet their retirement needs. (Fidelity reports that the average 401[k] balance in the first quarter of 2025 was $127,100.) That means more retirees are relying more heavily on Social Security for the bulk of their livelihood. According to the SSA, benefits provide more than 90 percent of income for about 1 in 7 Americans age 65-plus.
2034
In 1983, as Social Security’s trust funds dwindled dangerously close to depletion, Congress passed a sweeping law to shore up the program’s financing through tax increases, a higher retirement age and other reforms. It worked for nearly four decades: With Social Security’s revenue annually outpacing benefit payments, the trust funds built a nearly $3 trillion surplus by 2020.
But the pendulum has swung back: Amid the demographic changes noted above, the system is now spending more each year than it brings in, and the SSA is drawing down the surplus to meet its benefit commitments. According to the latest projections from Social Security’s trustees, the trust funds will run short in just nine years, and benefits will be reduced by 19 percent — unless Congress steps up, as it did 42 years ago.
2.7
Remember that first chart showing how much more of the country is paying into, and receiving, Social Security since the dawn of the program? There’s another side to that story: The working population isn’t growing as fast as the retiree population. In 1960, there were 5.1 workers paying Social Security taxes for every person getting benefits. In 2024, there were 2.7 workers per beneficiary.
The ratio is projected to keep inching downward, increasing the financial strain on the trust funds. Absent a rapid and radical shift in U.S. fertility rates, Social Security’s continued financial health rests on Congress’ ability to agree on changes, such as tax increases, benefit cuts or a combination of both, to stabilize the system.
96%
Congress has yet to act on securing Social Security for future generations, but public sentiment is clear. In the 2025 AARP survey, 96 percent of respondents said it is an important government program, and 74 percent called it one of the most important programs — up 5 percentage points from the 2020 poll. There was little variation by age or party affiliation: Americans of all generations and political stripes overwhelmingly agree that Social Security provides financial security for all and is crucial to older adults’ ability to live independently.
AARP Membership
Join AARP for only $15 per year with automatic renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of benefits, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine.
More From AARP
Social Security Turns 90
The program that transformed aging in America reaches a milestone this year. Explore how it started, where it's headed, and why fighting for it is as important as ever.These 7 Americans Depend on Social Security
Caregiving, health emergencies, business woes derailed their plans