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The US Treasury Department announced that the debt has increased to 40 Trillion dollars. In the articles explaining the debt, I keep reading about how Social Security payments are adding to the debt. Can someone please explain to me how that is? My understanding is the payments are made from collections of Social Security taxes from current employees and employers, as well as taking money from the Social Security trust fund. So please explain how a self funded program adds to the deficit. I know that some of Medicare payments are made from the general fund.
This creative accounting by our elected leaders is not limited to the Federal government. I live and pay taxes in New Jersey where the future unfunded liabilities for state worker pensions and retiree healthcare expenses are around $162 billion. That is over $42,000 per taxpayer. I guess I should be thankful I don’t live in Illinois, where it is even worse.
The Social Security Trust Fund is in included in the approximate 40 trillion national debt as part of the debt from intragovernmental holdings. At 12/31/2025 a balance was about 2.5 trillion was due to the social security fund, which is shrinking fast, from the general fund. We even have pieces of paper to prove it. Per the last trustees report they estimate the trust fund will be fully depleted in late 2032. I hope it will last another six years.
I am unsure what you have been specifically reading where you write “I keep reading about how Social Security payments are adding to the debt”. My guess are articles are referring to the unfunded social security debt over the following 75 years that is not included the current “official” 40 trillion dollar debt.
The Social Security fund unfunded debt is basically a liability of how much the program would pay out over the next 75 years over the amount the program is projected to collect over the next 75 years with both measures using current rules and lots of assumptions. A big guess would likely be an understatement but the unfunded liability is currently in the official national debt number as a zero liability.
The balance as of the 1/1/2026 unfunded liability per the recently released trustees report was 29.3 trillion and that amount has been getting larger with each passing year. The US government balance sheet has massive items omitted, with the real liability balance being a mile long loaded freight train with very limited time to slow or stop before it crashes.
This is no way to run a railroad.