Americans ages 65 and older received $2.7 trillion in federal spending in fiscal year 2025 — about six times more than children and young adults — according to an April 1 analysis from the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model.
Five things to know:
1. Federal outlays totaled about $7 trillion in fiscal year 2025 across 52 spending categories. Of that, $4.4 trillion was assigned to three age groups — retirees (65 and older), working-age adults (26–64) and children and young adults (under 26) — while the remaining $2.6 trillion was classified as benefiting all ages.
2. Retirees received $2.7 trillion, or 61.9% of age-assignable spending (and 38.6% of total outlays), driven primarily by Social Security and Medicare.
3. Working-age adults received $1.2 trillion, or 27.9% of the age-assignable outlays, spread across Medicaid, Social Security disability benefits, veterans benefits and Marketplace subsidies.
4. Americans younger than 26 received $449 billion, or 10.3% of the age-assignable total, including spending on Medicaid, SNAP, child nutrition and education programs.
5. Social Security ($1.3 trillion) and Medicare ($835 billion) account for about 80% of spending for older Americans, followed by federal employee retirement benefits, housing assistance, Medicaid long-term-care spending and VA medical care.
