Who Owns the U.S. National Debt?

Public debt and intragovernmental holdings

By Kimberly Amadeo  Updated on October 4, 2022

The Social Security Trust Fund owns a significant portion of U.S. national debt, but how does that work and what does it mean? Below, we'll dive into who actually owns the U.S. national debt and how that impacts you.

Two Types of National Debt

The U.S. national debt crested $31.12 trillion in October 2022.1 The U.S. Treasury manages the U.S. national debt through its Bureau of Public Debt. The bureau classifies that amount into two broad types: intragovernmental holdings and debt held by the public.

Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury

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Intragovernmental Debt

The Treasury owes this part of the debt to other federal agencies. Intragovernmental holdings totaled more than $6.82 trillion in October 2022.1 Why would the government owe money to itself? Because some agencies, like the Social Security Trust Fund, take in more revenue from taxes than they need. These agencies then invest in U.S. Treasurys rather than stick this cash under a giant mattress,

This transfers the agencies' excess revenue to the general fund, where it's spent. They redeem their Treasury notes for funds as needed. The federal government then either raises taxes or issues more debt to raise the cash.

Source: Treasury

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Which agencies own the most Treasury notes, bills, and bonds? Social Security, by a long shot. The U.S. Treasury publishes this information in its monthly Treasury statement.

Social Security trusts, including the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds, held $2.75 trillion in Treasurys as of August 2022. The next largest agency was the Military Retirement Fund at $1.18 trillion. Other large holders of debt include the Office of Personnel Management Retirement, Medicare (which includes the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund), then cash on hand to fund federal government operations.2

Public Debt

The public holds over $24.29 trillion of the national debt.1 Foreign governments hold a large portion of the public debt, while the rest is owned by U.S. banks and investors, the Federal Reserve, state and local governments, mutual funds, pensions funds, insurance companies, and holders of savings bonds.

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