Essay about The Social Security Program

Stephen Goss, the Chief Actuary of the Social Security Administration once said, “The concepts of solvency, sustainability, and budget impact are common in discussions of Social Security, but are not well understood.” Social Security is an important federal program that provides a stable source of income to individuals who no longer have a constant salary due to retirement, disability, or death. This program, not only keeps millions of families out of poverty, but it also plays a vital role in the national economy. According to the research report, “Social Security’s Impact on the National Economy”, by Gary Koenig and Al Myles, Social Security supports millions of jobs. The importance of this program is clearly evident in both the national economy and in the economic stability of each individual state. However, the future of the Social Security program does not look very stable and the right decisions need to be made in order to ensure the solidity of the nations’ economy.

For many years the social security program has been operating successfully. In recent times however, it is becoming apparent to some that social security is in need of reform. Their argument is that with the amount of people getting older in the next couple of decades, there will not be enough money left in the social security reserves to pay for everyone who needs it. That is why the idea of separating social security up into private funds has been brought to the attention of the American citizens. This idea of reform has been around for quite a long time; however it has been pushed on by pro reform supporters more in recent times because they think it is necessary for the

Currently, the United States is contemplating at a forthcoming Social Security crisis. If changes are not forged, the Social Security system will not be able to keep up with the demanded payouts and is estimated to empty the trust fund around the year 2037. In this paper I will review a brief history of the Social Security program, touch upon the eligibility requirements, discuss what economists believe about the future of the Social Security Program, and finally state the Pros and Cons to the proposed raising of the age requirement for minimum payout.

For years, Social Security has provided retired, disabled, as well many other Americans with financial security when they lacked or had little income later in their lives. Now, Social Security is being overwhelmed as the American population continues to grow. The Baby Boomers, or the demographic group born in the post- World War II era, from 1946-1964, have been the main reason for the prevalence of this issue. Millions were born during this era and by 2012 they were eligible for the full benefits of Social Security. Two years after that and for the first time ever, Social Security had to draw from its fund and since then they have not collected a surplus of taxes. Recent predictions show that by “2035, the number of Americans over age 65 will jump from today's 48 million to 79 million,” showing that this is just the start of Social Security’s problems to come. By 2035, I will hopefully be in my mid-30’s, wondering if one I would be able to afford retirement and without this system, I’m a bit unsure.

We could save the Social Security Program, if we engaged in some simple changes. There could be some slight changes in the retirement age area and in the Taxes area. According to the Article "Modest Changes Could save Social Security Program" written by Stephen Ohlemacher, he clearly stated that employees are 100% grantee for an full retirement benefit package once the hit the age of sixty-six. It will later rises to the age of sixty-seven for elders that was born in 1960 or later. In addition, employees are able to receive an early retirement at the age of sixty-two, although their retirement benefits would have been reduced (Ohlemacher). Some changes we can apply to the retirement age, is that we could slightly increase the retirement age until it reaches seventy in the year 2027, which would eliminate some shortfall in the program. Secondly, there should be a three-year increase in the early retirement age,

Established by the federal government in 1935, the social security system is currently one of the most costly items in the federal budget. The purpose of the system is to provide for Federal old-age benefits, and to enable social insurance and public assistance. The proposal of moving to an entirely new system would give the people living in the United States their own individual authority of controlling their own investments. If social security does not become privatized; the system itself will turn unsustainable, the retired and disabled will not fully receive their earnings; and the people of the United States will continue to have no control over their investments.

The social security system, established by the federal government in 1935; is currently one of the most costly items in the federal budget. The purpose of the system is to provide for Federal old-age benefits, and to enable social insurance and public assistance. The proposal of moving to an entirely new system would give the people living in the United States their own individual authority of controlling their own investments. If social security does not become privatized; the system itself will turn unsustainable, the retired and disabled will not fully receive their earnings; and the people of the United States will continue to have no control over their investments.

After its passage on August 14, 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt regarded the Social Security Act as “a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means completed” but whose purpose is to “take care of human needs and at the same time provide for the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.” The very opposite of soundness, however, was achieved. Today, looming deficits and abuse of the program have left it the focus of many debates. At their conclusion, the discussions generally only point toward making it more difficult to receive the money you put in, back, and raising taxes drastically on those still working to provide benefits for the disproportionate amount of retirees. Its problems are vast, but a permanent solution has yet to be decided. Far less discussed, however, is if the program itself is worth saving. Because of

With a federal yearly budget which exceeds six hundred and twelve billion dollars and makes up more than one-fifth of the Federal Budget, Social Security is the nation’s largest federal program (Moody, 2012). Often, people are prompted to think of Social Security as a retirement program; however it is far more than that, for it provides for more people than just those who are retired. It provides for the disabled, for spouses or child of worker who has died, and for dependent parent of a worker who has died. Hence, depending on an individual 's circumstances, one might be eligible for Social Security at any age (Young, 2010).

Social Security is facing pressure to lower benefits… due to longer life-spans, an overall population increase …the Baby Boomers beginning to reach retirement age, and the increase in the number of people receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits. If the system continues as-is, the total benefits will eventually surpass the amount of taxes paid into the system by younger workers. If the system is not altered at some point full benefits will not be paid as promised. (13)

It is about eighty two years since Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security Act. FDR stated “We can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life...we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.” The social security plan had established itself as one of the most popular federal program. The program covers retirement, disability, and survivors’ benefits although to quality for most of the program’s benefit there must have been contribution from the receiver. In 1935, the Social Security Act became an actual law and with several amendments

The United States’ Social Security system was implemented by Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935 as a part of the New Deal during the Great Depression “to frame a law which gives some measure of protection to the average citizen and his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age." Although the system has proven to be one of the most popular programs ever established, its future has been questionable for some time. According to the Social Security Administration (2008), “People are living longer, the first baby boomers are nearing retirement, and the birth rate is lower than in the past. The result is that the worker-to-beneficiary ratio has fallen from 16.5-to-1 in 1950 to 3.3-to-1 today. Within 40 years it will be 2-to-1. At this ratio there will not be enough workers to pay scheduled benefits at current tax rates” (Social Security Administration [SSA], 2008). This issue concerns many citizens, especially younger generations, and continues to be a hot topic of debate amongst politicians. Many ideas have been proposed about how to reform the current system. The most popular of these ideas is to create an entirely new system consisting of mandatory pension accounts which would allow individuals to accumulate a balance over time with investment options such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. This argument will show why Social Security should not be replaced by a mandatory private pension system.

     There is much-heated debate on the issues of Social Security today. The Social Security system is the largest government program of income distribution in the United States. People are concerned that they won't see a dime of what they worked so hard to contribute into the Social Security system for so many years. Social Security provides benefits to about forty-three million Americans. Not only to retired workers, but also to their spouses and dependents of the workers who die prematurely. It also provides benefits to disabled workers and their dependents. Social Security appears to most people like a simple retirement saving’s account. After all, you generally

The Social Security System is in need of a new reform; our current system was not designed for the age stratification we have at this time. The U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Policy states, “The original Social Security Act, signed into law on August 14, 1935, grew out of the work of the Committee on Economic Security, a cabinet-level group appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt just one year earlier. The Act created several programs that, even today, form the basis for the government's role in providing income security, specifically, the old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs.” Social Security was modeled to aid the elderly citizens, however during the

(5) Currently SS funds are collected and distributed on a pay - as - you -go (PAYG) system in which Social Security taxes from individuals are immediately distributed by the means of the SS Administration as it sees best fit. This means that taxes collected are not reserved for the individual who has paid them: in Rose 2 the current state he or she must rely on those persons paying SS taxes during the time of their retirement (Becker). For a number of these characteristics and future issues, the Social Security System must be reformed or completely abolished to meet the needs of tomorrow. The leading concerns of Social Security that merits the immediate initiation of reform are the demographic and economic circumstances in the coming century. Even though "forecasting the economy and budget over such a long period is uncertain" there remain many "certainties" regarding problems facing Social Security in the first half of the 21st century (OMB, Budget Perspectives 23). The Federal Government's responsibilities extend well beyond "the five- or six-year window" that has restricted the focus of recent budget analysis and debate. Of these "certainties" are the mounting challenges posed from the baby-boomer generation. This generation, born in the years after World War II, is aging