Social Security Overview
Social Security is one of America’s most successful government programs, and has helped millions of Americans avoid poverty. Congress passed the Social Security Act in 1935 and the retirement benefits program went into effect on January 1, 1937. Social Security issued its first monthly retirement benefits check to Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Vermont on January 31, 1940 in the amount of $22.54. Miss Fuller, a Legal Secretary, retired in November 1939. She started collecting benefits at the age 65 and lived to be 100 years old, dying in 1975. Miss Fuller worked for three years under the Social Security program, the accumulated taxes on her salary during those three years was a total of $24.75. During her lifetime she collected a total of $22,888.92 in benefits (SSA). Since that time the law has been revised many times since its original enactment however the original Social Security Act provided only retirement benefits for wage and salary earners. In 1939, benefits were added for family members after the worker’s death or retirement (Diamond & Orszag).
Social Security is administered by the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration is an independent agency in the executive branch of the federal government. The commissioner of the Social Security Administration is appointed by the President and approved by the Senate and serves a term of six years. The Social Security Administration provides the following programs which are covered by the Social Security Act: 1) Social Security which includes retirement, survivors, and disability insurance. 2) Medicare which is hospital and medical insurance for the aged, the disabled, and those with end-stage renal disease, and is administered by...
... middle of paper ...
...essons will help anyone throughout their lives in more ways than just saving a dollar (The Simple Dollar).
Works Cited
Diamond, Peter A. & Orszag, Peter R. (2004) Saving Social Security: A Balanced Approach. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press.
Stenken, Joseph F. (2009). Social Security Source Book: Tax Fact Series. Cincinnati, Ohio: The National Underwriter Company.
The Official Website of the U.S. Social Security Administration: Social Security. Retrieved from http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pgm/retirement.htm.
The Simple Dollar. Financial Talk for the Rest of Us: Retirement Planning for a Low-Income Career. (December 26, 2009). Retrieved from http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/12/26/retirement-planning-for-a-low-income-career/.
Tomkiel III, Stanley A. (2008). The Social Security Answer Book (2nd Edition). Naperville, IL: Sphinx Publishing.
Throughout the 20th century governmental responsibility has made remarkable progress. One major milestone of the widening of the responsibility of the federal government was it’s making an obligation to care for the elderly and retired in the form of social security. In 1935, the Social Security Act was enacted by the federal government to provide financial security to the elderly, retired citizens in America. Although the federal government first took on this responsibility in 1935, it is still affecting our lives today. However, social security would not have advanced this far without many organizations and individual reformers to begin and improve social security throughout history.
...n the retirement age. Yet Social Security's fiscal outlook remains strong. (“Next New Deal”, par. 3)
Stephen C. Goss has extensively written about the future financial status of the social security program for the Americans and for the whole world at large. He patently articulates that changes enacted in 1983 on Social Security are expected to bring dynamic revolution, such that the benefits and other compensations would be paid in full and on a timely basis until 2037. In 2037, trust fund reserves are expected to be virtually exhausted. After the reserves are used, continuing taxes will be vastly relied upon to pay 76% of the benefits. There will be need and the necessity for the Congress to deliberate on changes concerning the program. It is estimated that reduction of benefits by 13% or a sudden increase in payroll tax to 14.4% from 12.4% or a combination of these two strategies will lead to full payment of scheduled benefits for the next 75 years. In the article, Stephen Goss explicitly analyzes the financial state of the Social Security program. He fundamentally analyzes the aspects of solvency and sustainability. It also evaluates the effect of the social program on the federal budget. It is apparent that social benefits that Americans deserve will continue in the future with certain adjustments to be implemented by the congress and by the legislative bodies.
Each day that goes by there is a politician or journalist arguing about social security, the plans for saving it, and the repercussions of said plans. These topics are constantly flowing through newspapers, internet sites, online journals, and economic journals as well as many other forms of media. The major topic of discussion is the plan put forth by the current administration to reform social security, or more specifically, privatize it. There is no correct argument or correct opinion on how the situation with social security should be handled. Unfortunately, the government has the power in their hands to do with it as they see fit. Presented in this paper are numerous articles stating the condition of social security and specific problems with the way social security stands today.
Despite the retirement income crisis, Social Security should be expanded, not reduced. In Arthur Delaney’s article on the Huffington Post, Senator Bernie Sanders stated, “With the middle class struggling and more people living in poverty than ever before, we cannot afford to make life even more difficult for seniors.” A push to adopt CPI-E, rather than a switch to a “chained” consumer price index that cuts retiree benefits, would m...
Today, the future of Social Security is in the news again. The reason Social Security is of such concern is that the extremely large group of citizens born in the post-World War II period—the much-discussed baby-boom generation—is retiring. The generation that will take its place in the workforce is far smaller in proportion to the number of retirees, raising fears about the sustainability of Social Security. In the past, proposed solutions to the various problems facing Social Security aroused great debate. Each time, however, the arguments were stilled, repairs were made, and the system continued to fulfill its mandate. That uncertainty about the future has resulted in suggestions for change that range from minor adjustments to complete privatization of the ...
"Social Security Should Be Run by the Government" by Institute for America's Future.Capitalism. Noël Merino, Ed. Current Controversies Series. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Institute for America's Future, The Perils of Privatization: Social Security Privatization Cuts Lifetime Benefits; Makes Senior Citizens Vulnerable to Poverty: The Impact in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Institute for America's Future, 2008. Reproduced by permission. .
22. Kennith Davis, "The Birth of Social Security," in Visions of America's Past, ed. William Bryans et al. (Plymouth: Hayden-McNeil Publishing, 2011), 327.
A better way to measure the financial trouble facing Social Security is to compare the promised total future benefits to the program 's total future taxes on a present value basis. Unless policymakers cut Social Security and other programs, the fiscal and economic outlook for the nation looks grim. The large baby boomer generation is beginning to retire in droves and average life spans in the nation are continuing to rise. Those changing demographics are driving Social Security 's financial imbalances. When Social Security was created in 1935, the life expectancy for
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the original Social Security Act. It comprised of two services: a Social Security retirement benefit that applied only to workers, and a welfare program for the elderly called Old Age Assistance. Social Security benefits were not paid until 1942 to allow for a period of partial forward funding. The retirement benefit service was funded by a two percent tax on the first $3000 of payroll earnings, 1 percent form employers and 1 percent from workers. In 1939, Social Security was amended to include coverage to dependents of workers who died. The payroll tax income was also set aside in a separate trust fund.
The push for Congress to pass legislation protecting the rights of employees and their retirement was inevitable. Retirement plans are extremely important for all working individuals. Having funds to keep or exceed ones current standard of living and to enjoy one’s life beyond expectations after retire...
Meyerson, N. (2010) up some interesting point in research about the down fall of social security
Retirement Retirement seems to be one of the most often overlooked areas of people’s future plan. Simply because it seems so far away, it is an area that is subject to procrastination. People are expected to live longer now than ever before, this is another reason why young adults and teenagers are not worried about saving for their retirement. The baby boom generation, the seventy seven million people born between 1943 and 1960, face an entirely different retirement plan. As they began to retire, people are starting to think that there will be no money left and this will turn into a crisis. What will happen when seventy-seven million baby boomers begin to want the money they paid in… but it is not there? Retirement provisions such as Social Security, IRA’s, and 401k’s are there to help when you are deciding how to save money. Social Security started a long time ago, in the 1930’s, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. He was elected president in November 1932. By March there were over thirteen million people that were unemployed, and almost every bank was closed. Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a sweeping program to being recovery to business and to agriculture and relief to those who were in fear of losing their farms and homes to being unemployed. In 1935, recovery was slowing arriving, but more And more people were turning against Roosevelt’s New Deal program. This led Roosevelt to a new program of reform, which we know today as social security.
...s for generations to come, which in essence, needs to start now. Using a conservative economic projection should be one of the steps taken for the growth of future social security. We all know there are no free rides in life; someone is always taking the bill, much less in social security. Any of the changes discussed in this report would impose a real alteration in the level of benefits, taxation and risks. Ultimately, we need to look forward with complete understanding and full acceptance of changes, while keeping faith in a system, which has served us so well.
III. (Reveal Topic) You simply cannot rely on Social Security to support you in your "Golden Years". You can never start too early to save for your retirement. In fact, the earlier, the better.