Per the academic work "Economics: The Definitive Encyclopedia from Theory to Practice": "Social Security stands as the largest government program in the world and the single greatest expenditure in the U.S. federal budget." In 2017, Social Security made $952 billion in outlays, which was about 20% higher than what the U.S. government spent on national defense and veteran's benefits. A common misconception is that Social Security does not "spend" money but merely returns it to its owners. In reality, Social Security is not a savings plan but a government social program that provides benefits to the aged and disabled mainly by taxing people who are working.