Social Security and the Distribution of Family Wealth: Working Paper 2026-05

Elizabeth Ash and Nadia Karamcheva

No 62263, Working Papers from Congressional Budget Office

Abstract: Wealth inequality has increased significantly in the United States over the past several decades. This paper examines how incorporating Social Security wealth into standard measures of family wealth affects estimates of wealth inequality over time. Most existing studies have defined wealth as the sum of net worth—marketable assets minus debts—plus the present value of future income from defined benefit pension plans. That definition excludes a major source of retirement income: Social Security benefits.This analysis uses data mainly from the Survey of

JEL-codes: J21 J26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-28
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