Federal Liabilities: 2021 Update

Abstract

The 2020 Financial Report of the United States Government (FRUSG) identifies total federal liabilities of $32.7 trillion as of September 30, 2020. The debt held by the public, $21.1 trillion, comprised 62% of these liabilities. Federal employees’ accrued benefits make up another 31%, and various other categories round out the remainder. Although similar to federal employees’ accrued benefits, current retirees’ expected Social Security and Medicare benefits – another $27.2 trillion - are not included as part of our nation’s official liability measure. In PERC policy study 2104, authors Dennis W. Jansen, Liqun Liu and Andrew J. Rettenmaier examine the official current liabilities of the U.S. government and propose adding retirees' accrued Social Security and Medicare benefits to the official liabilities to arrive at a more accurate portrait of U.S. liabilities.