The Social Security program has benefitted many Americans since its inception in 1935. However, Social Security faces many challenges. This paper will provide a general overview of the Social Security program, highlight concerns with the current system and outline some methods to reform Social Security. Some may argue the program will continue to provide uninterrupted benefits for the foreseeable future with no issues. However, Social Security reform is essential to ensure the program will continue to benefit Americans and not create a financial burden on future generations.
Social security initially provided benefits for a more narrow scope than it does today. It was designed to benefit the elderly, unemployed and widows with children.
Since
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In 2014, the average American retiree collected nearly $1,300 a month, this makes up a significant
Maxim 2 portion of the retiree’s income. In order to provide these benefits to retirees a 6.2% tax on the wages of working Americans is imposed. Historically Social Security took in more from taxes than it paid out in benefits. This led to a surplus in Social Security funds.
However, according to Lucy Mueller
“Unfortunately, those funds are no longer just an emergency buffer. For the last five years, there’s been a cash flow deficit – it’s currently about $75 billion a year, a number that’s expected to rise precipitously by the end of this decade. At this rate, the 2014 Social Security Trustees report estimates that the trust funds will become insolvent, i.e. run out, by 2033 (Mueller, 1).”
Essentially millions of Americans are paying into the Social Security program every paycheck while under the impression they will one day be able to take advantage of the benefits of the program. However, if the Program is out of funds in the next 20 years, future generations will not be entitled to the amount of funds that they are
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Put simply there aren’t enough people paying into the program compared with the number of people being paid by the program. This ratio problem has many contributing factors and includes more and more baby boomers retiring, longer average life spans, and a lower fertility rate in the United States. According to Mueller,
“One of the reasons for Social Security’s continuing deficits is the influx of retirees, which is putting a strain on an already strained system. Every month,
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250,000 more baby boomers turn 65, with many dropping out of the workforce. In
2010, 10 percent of boomers were retired; in 2014, that number had jumped to
17 percent.”(Mueller, 2)
This “influx” is moving the contributor to beneficiary ratio in the wrong direction. As far as longer lifespans, if Americans are living longer but the average retirement age is not moved higher than obviously they will spend more time collecting benefits and further push the program into debt. This argument is also supported by “The Challenge of
Democracy”
When the program began, it had many contributors and few beneficiaries…nine workers supported each beneficiary. As the program matured and more
Co-pay up to 10% for people 70 years or older and low income (if qualified).
In the United States, child support is court mandated and requires the non-custodial parent of a minor or minors to make payments to ensure that their child is financially taken care of. Title IV-D of the Social Security Act requires that all States establish a comprehensive program which works to locate non-custodial parents of children receiving welfare and to obtain child support from any parents located (Saltzman, Furman, and Ohman, 2014). Many incarcerated offenders are unaware that their child support payments accrue while they are incarcerated, potentially leading to a financial nightmare. A parent’s incarceration may not allow deviation from the guidelines set forth by the state. As seen in State
The entitlement programs we have today are carefully-crafted and are easily changeable with our economy and financial state. Entitlement programs in America have been constantly adjusted over time in order to keep up with society and the growing economy, providing sustainability when it comes to addressing all citizens in the US. The constant changing and strengthening of entitlement programs has proven to be very important in lowering the unemployment rate and keeping criminals off the street. Financial and demographic programs all around the country have been changed and adjusted over the years to maximize the amount of money it can distribute to American citizens. For example, automatic cost-of-living increases did not even exist in Social
Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Title XIX) included the regulations and implementation standards for Medicaid. Medicaid is a federal program that was established in 1965 under the Title XIX law. This law detailed and described the roles of both the federal and state government in the administration of Medicaid. Federal laws outlined the overall components of the program with mandated and optional inclusions: payment limits, beneficiary eligibility requirements, amount of coverage for medical services and rehabilitation services, and the methods for money reimbursement (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2013).
The Social Security act was put into place to help the people over the age of 65 to live life with a supplement after they retire. The money taken away from their weekly wages would be put away till this time. This money is called a Social Security tax. “The Social Security Act, signed into law by President Roosevelt on August 15, 1935, was the major legislative achievement of the New Deal. It was a landmark in American political and social history, reflecting a public commitment to the economic rights of people and, consequently, extending federal responsibility for social welfare.” (Axinn & Stern, 2012) When you retire you can draw from this money you have worked for, if you pass away your wife or children are entitled to these earnings left by the worker. One of the most differences between now and in the past regarding Social Security is the coverage. People in the past were not all covered regardless if they were working because of the cost and lack of benefits available.
Surely, the confidence equipped by a privatized platform in that individuals may ascertain that the funds they pay into the system, will unequivocally be theirs to keep for retirement, is a welcome change to the current method that is rapidly dissolving, and for which many “believe Social Security will not be able to provide them with any benefits at all by the time they retire” (Background of the Issue - Privatizing Social Security)- but it doesn’t come without potential repercussions. This deregulated concept not only allows citizens to manage their own retirement funds, but it also invites negligent economic reasoning among workers- a tendency which would defeat the purpose of secure, private
There are a lot of opinions on how or even if social security will exist in the future. In past years, leading to today there have been many issues, causing everyone to worry about the future funding of social security. The federal government needs to make changes on how social security is being handled before it is to late and no retirees will be getting social security benefits. Below I discuss several options that have been proposed to help the Social Security Trust Fund to get back to being stable.
Retirement is like a three legged stool with Social Security being one leg that is guaranteed by the Federal Government, the second is between the employer and the employee such as a pension, and the final leg is that of personal choice such as Individual retirement accounts or personal savings. The three legs effectively implemented should leave no person out in the cold when they age and hit retirement age and no longer work. The Trust fund surplus has been allocated to keep the government operating and to keep the effective tax rates low. When the Social Security program collects more in taxes than it spends, by law the Social Security program has to loan the money to the United States Government. Social Security is the leading cause of this nation’s debt from all the years of surpluses and government reallocating the surpluses to other programs. Social Security and its creation was a great idea in ensuring that the citizens of the country would be taken care of when the need arises. As Politicians change and parties battle it out over the years about how to fund the government it has always been the Social Security Trust Fund that government official’s use.
Social Security is the foundation that provides economic security for certain Americans including those who are disabled, retired or the family members of those who are. Most don’t realize it, but by the age of twenty there is a twenty-five percent chance that you may become disabled before retiring. Therefore, this foundation is pretty important. The Social Security Administration pays disability benefits through SSDI and SSI programs.
I would like to see the social security system completely reorganized and a higher retirement age for anyone born after the year 2000. This reorganization would not affect anyone born before the year 2000 in any way. However, anyone that can retire before 2035 will have the option to invest up to twenty-five percent of their current social security withholdings in a 401k type retirement plan. An option of this type would allow the individual to decide where their investment goes and thus reduce the amount that the federal government is responsible for paying out to any retiree that chooses this option. Anyone born after the year 2000, their retirement would be a combination of the two accounts and of the current funds being
In good years, these revenues have outnumbered the claims laid to them, but it is clear that that period is coming to an end. The Baby Boomers – a massive population segment who, in their youth, contributed greatly to Social Security revenues – are now coming into their own as retirees, and will no longer provide the revenue that they did in their working years.
Retirement and Social Security issues have become local, national, and international concerns that will also affect each of us on a personal level. Social Security benefits began in 1935 when the depression hit and put many elderly people out of work (http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov). Social Security has been around for over 70 years providing a dependable monthly income with automatic increases as the cost of living increased. The Social Security Administration reports that workers need 70-80 percent of pre-retirement income once retired and Social Security only provides about 40 percent (www.ssa.gov). The depletion of funds is becoming a great concern and is also getting worse with each generation.
Social security has become the largest governmental program in the United States, accounting for 24% of total US federal spending by 2015(Word cited). A proposal to replace the current social security of the government is the mandatory privatization in pension system, which will allow employees to manage their retirement funds through individual investment accounts. But due to the fact that privatized pension system will only be more detrimental including higher national debt, lower assured benefits than the current system, and the requirement of a new bureaucratic government.
Almost every American adult citizen is aware of the Social Security Administration. Every payday, each working American has tax deduction for Social Security on their payroll stubs and these deductions are recorded on their W2 forms at the end of the year. If they have older parents or disabled family members, then they would be aware of Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and/or Social Security Income (SSI). Many young people are not conscious of life before Social Security, how disabled or elderly citizens lived without Federal assistance or how Social Security came into existence. Like any issue, there are champions and challengers, people will argue over the benefits and the weaknesses of the issue or alternate ideas for the same
The Social Security administers the retirement, disability and survivor benefits for people in the United States. Also, the social security benefits nearly every family, and in a given point will influence the life of almost everyone in the United States. Nowadays, most of the beneficiaries are retirees and their families. Some of the benefits that the social security program offer are the financing, social services, and benefits for incapacity.