The Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics have estimated 
the first complete distribution of personal saving for the United States by estimating the 
joint distribution of disposable personal income and personal consumption expenditures. 
We start with household survey data augmented with data from administrative sources 
and modify these data such that they aggregate to the national accounts totals for 
2004-2022. The augmented household survey data are corrected for suspected 
underreporting at the top and bottom of the income and expenditure distributions to 
allocate macro totals to households. While aggregate saving is 3% of personal income in 
2022, we find it is negative for the bottom half of the distribution. In fact, expenditures 
are more than double income for the bottom 10%, but almost six times less than income 
for the top 1%. Despite a temporary increase in saving during the COVID pandemic, the 
polarization is large and persistent, and robust to modifying the definitions and sample 
composition. This paper represents an important step in bridging the gap between micro 
households and national accounts for saving.
The paper is posted on the BLS Working Paper Series website: https://www.bls.gov/osmr/research-papers/2024/pdf/ec240050.pdf
Disclaimer: This presentation provides a summary of research results. The information is being released for statistical purposes, to inform interested parties, and to encourage discussion of work in progress. The presentation does not represent an existing, or a forthcoming new, official BLS statistical data product or production series.
Notice: The conference presentation is available upon request (Contact Author is Marina Gindelsky marina.gindelsky@bea.gov).