Demographic Time Bomb in Pictures

Here is a chart from reader Tim Wallace showing social security and disability stats for June of 2012 compared to June in prior years.

Chart shows those receiving benefits. Those not in the labor force claiming a disability is much higher.

Not in Labor Force - With a Disability, 16 Years and Over

In terms of effect on unemployment stats, the above chart applies.

Beneficiary Data

Beneficiary Data in first chart is from Social Security Online. Here are additional charts from the site.

Number of Beneficiaries by Type

Number of Beneficiaries as of December 2011

A few more charts will put this in perspective.

Civilian Labor Force

Private Employment

Quick Stats

• As of 2012-06 the civilian labor force was 155,163,000
• As of 2012-06 there were 111,145,000 in the private workforce
• As of 2012-06 there were 56,174,538 collecting some form of SS or disability benefit
• Ratio of SS beneficiaries to private employment just passed the 50% mark (50.54%)

Here is one final chart to ponder.

Social Security Benefits in Dollars

As of May 2012, the outlays are $756.9 billion annualized. Fewer worker relatively speaking, support more and more recipients with exponentially growing payments. This is supposed to work?

Source: Global Economic Analysis