Social Security Overview
Social Security Resources
In 1935, the federal government established social security to provide monetary assistance to the elderly, unemployed, impoverished, disabled, and widowed. The social security program also offers government health insurance through the Medicare program. The Social Security Administration oversees the distribution of social security benefits. Currently, one-third of Americans over the age of 65 receive 90% of their income from social security.
Social Security Card
To receive social security benefits, an individual must hold a social security card. Generally, only U.S. citizens and non-citizens who have been approved to work in the United States by the Department of Homeland Security are permitted to apply for a Social Security card. This card contains a number which is used to keep track of the wages a person earns, and how much a person contributes to the social security system. The government later distributes social security benefits in part according to how much a worker has contributed to the system.
Currently, a myriad of government agencies utilize Social Security numbers, including the Internal Revenue Service, which adopted the Social Security number as an individual's official taxpayer identification number. In addition, a person may need a social security number to obtain a driver's license or to register to vote.
Who is Eligible For Benefits?
Eligibility for retirement benefits are based on a person's age and the number of years he or she has worked. For example, if a person was born in 1929 or later, the person must have been employed for at least 10 years to be eligible for retirement benefits. While the retirement age is rising as people's life expectancies are increasing, the full retirement age is generally 65.
The federal government provides Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to the elderly, blind, and disabled based on financial need. Assistance may come in the form of monthly disability payments, food stamps and Medicaid. Eligibility for the Social Security Disability Program is based on prior employment. The Social Security Disability Program and the Supplemental Security Income may also provide benefits to disabled children.
Furthermore, if employees who have paid Social Security taxes die, their surviving family members may apply for Social Security benefits. The government provides survivor benefits to widows or widowers, unmarried children under 18, dependent parents, and children who were disabled before reaching the age of 22. Surviving family members may also be eligible for Medicare.
Social Security Reform
Analysts predict that without changes to the social security system, by 2017, it will start paying out more in benefits than it receives in tax revenue. Because this type of spending is not sustainable, policy makers have been debating the most efficient way to preserve and strengthen the social security system. Potential solutions include privatization, increasing the retirement age, linking benefits to the rate of inflation rather than to wages, establishing a disincentive for early retirement, giving workers the opportunity to put their payroll taxes into diversified investments, and decreasing benefits for high income retirees.