2015 OASDI Trustees Report

 

B. TRUST FUND FINANCIAL OPERATIONS IN 2014

Table II.B1 shows the income, expenditures, and asset reserves for the OASI, the DI, and the theoretical combined OASI and DI Trust Funds in calendar year 2014.

Table II.B1.—Summary of 2014 Trust Fund Financial Operations

[In billions]

		OASI	DI	OASDI
Asset reserves at the end of 2013		$2,674.0	$90.4	$2,764.4
Total income in 2014		769.4	114.9	884.3
	Net payroll tax contributions	646.2	109.7	756.0
	Reimbursement from General Fund of the Treasury	.4	.1	.5
	Taxation of benefits	28.0	1.7	29.6
	Interest	94.8	3.4	98.2
Total expenditures in 2014		714.2	145.1	859.2
	Benefit payments	706.8	141.7	848.5
	Railroad Retirement financial interchange	4.3	.4	4.7
	Administrative expenses	3.1	2.9	6.1
Net increase in asset reserves in 2014		55.2	-30.2	25.0
Asset reserves at the end of 2014		2,729.2	60.2	2,789.5

Note: Totals do not necessarily equal the sums of rounded components.

In 2014, net payroll tax contributions accounted for 85 percent of total trust fund income. Net payroll tax contributions consist of taxes paid by employees, employers, and the self-employed on earnings covered by Social Security. These taxes are paid on covered earnings up to a specified maximum annual amount, which was $117,000 in 2014. Table II.B2 shows the tax rates for 2014.

In 2014, approximately 0.1 percent of OASI and DI combined Trust Fund income came from reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury. Public Laws 111-312, 112-78, and 112-96 account for most of the reimbursement for the year. These acts specified general fund reimbursement for temporary reductions in revenue due to reduced payroll tax rates for employees and for self-employed workers.

Three percent of OASI and DI combined Trust Fund income in 2014 came from subjecting up to 50 percent of Social Security benefits to Federal personal income taxation for beneficiaries with income (including half of benefits and all non-taxable interest) exceeding specified levels. Interest earned on investment of trust fund asset reserves accounted for 11 percent of OASDI income. The Department of the Treasury invests trust fund reserves in interest-bearing securities issued by the U.S. Government. In 2014, the combined trust fund reserves earned interest at an effective annual rate of 3.6 percent.

Almost 99 percent of expenditures from the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds in 2014 were retirement, survivor, and disability benefits totaling $848.5 billion. The financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement program was the source of a net payment of $4.7 billion from the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds, which was about 0.5 percent of total expenditures. The administrative expenses of the Social Security program were $6.1 billion, which was about 0.7 percent of total expenditures.

The trust fund investments provide a reserve to pay benefits whenever total program cost exceeds income. Trust fund reserves increased by $25.0 billion in 2014 because total income to the combined funds, including interest earned on trust fund reserves, exceeded total expenditures. At the end of 2014, the combined reserves of the OASI and the DI Trust Funds were 308 percent of estimated expenditures¹ for 2015. In comparison, the combined reserves at the end of 2013 were 322 percent of expenditures for 2014.

Table II.B2.—Payroll Tax Contribution Rates for 2014

[In percent]

	OASI	DI	OASDI
Payroll tax contribution rate for employees	5.30	0.90	6.20
Payroll tax contribution rate for employers	5.30	.90	6.20
Payroll tax contribution rate for self-employed persons	10.60	1.80	12.40

 

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1

Estimated expenditures are based on the intermediate set of assumptions.