Social Security generates $28 billion in economic activity, supports 195,000 jobs in Wisconsin

A new study from the
AARP Public Policy Institute
calculates that each dollar
paid to Social Security
beneficiaries in Wisconsin
generates nearly two dollars
in spending by individuals
and businesses, adding about
$28.1 billion in total economic
output to Wisconsin –
and about $1.4 trillion to the
national economy – in 2012.
The report also finds the
$15.6 billion paid in Social
Security benefits in 2012
helped Wisconsinites keep or
find more than 195,000 jobs.
Social Security’s Impact on the
National Economy details the
powerful multiplier effect
created when Social Security
recipients spend their
benefits and the companies
which receive those dollars
spend their profits and pay
their employees, who in turn
spend their wages. The report
provides both national
and state-level data.