The United States spends six times more on every person over 65 than on those under 25.
Posted by Real Time with Bill Maher, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict2 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Real Time with Bill MaherOct 24, 2026
The claim's 'six times' figure matches the Penn Wharton aggregate comparison of $2.7 trillion for 65+ versus $449 billion for under-26 (about 6x), but per-person ratios in the sources range from roughly 5x to 10x depending on the measure and age cutoff, so the per-person claim holds only on some readings.
A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… Same as in France: the schools are crumbling there because a third of their education budget goes to pensions for people who don't teach anymore. Here in America, we spend six times more on every person over 65 than we do on those under 25, and this is not sustainable. When Social Security went into effect in 1940, life expectancy for an American man was 61, and Social Security kicked in at 65, so you can see why it was such a workable way of getting money to older people, because they were …
Real Time with Bill Maher · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Per-person comparisons in the sources give different ratios: Kearney et al. report $29,189 per elderly American versus $5,595 per child under 18 (about 5.2x), and Brookings reports $5.72 in federal spending per $1 for the elderly versus children under 19 (about 5.7x).[2][4]
Contradicts. FinanceBuzz, summarizing the same Penn Wharton data, reports roughly $43,700 per retiree versus $4,300 per younger person, a tenfold per-capita gap, which exceeds the claimed six times.[5]
Supports. Penn Wharton Budget Model analysis, as reported, puts FY2025 federal spending on Americans 65+ at $2.7 trillion versus $449 billion for under-26s, about six times as much in aggregate.[6][7]
Context. CMS reports 2020 personal health care spending per person 65+ of $22,356 versus $4,217 per child, over five times, and PolitiFact's 2013 analysis found federal spending about 6.5 times higher per senior, with the gap narrowing when state and local spending is added.[1][3]
Sources
7 sources: 1 fact-checker, 2 primary, 3 not rated, 1 tier 2
- 1Federal spending on old and young, by the numberspolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Generational war over the budget? Hard to see it in the numbersbrookings.edu · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 3NHE Fact Sheet | CMS - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicescms.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 4[PDF] The Economic Case for Smart Investing in America's Youtheconomicstrategygroup.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5If You're Over 50, Take...financebuzz.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6Seniors Are Devouring the Federal Budgetnationalreview.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 7Americans 65+ receive 6x more in federal spending than younger ...beckershospitalreview.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post