The federal government devotes a substantial share of its budget to benefits for the nation's retirees through Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, other programs. Additionally, tax incentives for employer-sponsored retirement plans and for Individual Retirement Accounts constitute one of the largest preferences in the federal income tax code. CBO regularly analyzes a wide range of proposals to change those programs or those elements of the tax code.
Retirement
featured work
2012 Long-Term Projections for Social Security
Over the next 20 years, the population will age and spending on Social Security will increase from about 5 percent of GDP to about 6 percent.
2011 Long-Term Projections for Social Security: Infographic
CBO's first infographic summarizes some of the agency's most recent projections for Social Security and provides background information on the program, including the number of beneficiaries and their distribution (among retired workers, disabled workers, and others), an explanation of how Social Security benefits are calculated, and a history of Social Security legislation since 1935.
latest from cbo
As the Population Ages, Social Security’s Spending Is Projected to Outpace Its Tax Revenues
blog postOctober 2, 2012The 2012 Long-Term Projections for Social Security: Additional Information
reportOctober 2, 2012Supplemental Data for CBO's 2012 Long-Term Projections for Social Security
data or technical informationOctober 2, 2012H.R. 2800, Missing Alzheimer’s Disease Patient Alert Program Reauthorization Act of 2012
cost estimateAugust 23, 2012S. 1515, United States Secret Service Retirement Act of 2012
cost estimateAugust 1, 2012Medicare's Payments to Physicians: The Budgetary Impact of Alternative Policies Relative to CBO's March 2012 Baseline
data or technical informationJuly 31, 2012CBO Releases Report on Policy Options for the Social Security Disability Insurance Program
blog postJuly 16, 2012Policy Options for the Social Security Disability Insurance Program
reportJuly 16, 2012
Use this menu to filter CBO's publications by topic. From January 2011 forward, all the agency's products are categorized by topic. Cost estimates released prior to the 112th Congress are not categorized by topic.