Social Security

Social Security

Social Security is a program that was instituted in 1935 by the Roosevelt administration (SSA). President Roosevelt formed the administration to run and execute the program according to its intended purpose. The main purpose of the Social Security Program is to ensure a threshold subsistence level below which any worker who had paid into the program cannot fall. The main benefits of the program are: retirement, survivors, and disability. These benefits are paid out on a monthly basis. The program was motivated by the events surrounding the Great Depression. Additionally, the funding for the program comes directly from payroll taxes paid by workers (SSA). The current program has some impending financial issues that need to be addressed and tackled. Though many attempts have been made to adjust the program, the Social Security program remained unchanged in principle since its implementation in 1935 (John, 2005).

Social security is made up of three major programs: retirement, survivors, and disability. For those who qualify, benefits are distributed according to the worker’s previous earnings to retired and disabled workers and eligible survivors (John, 2005). The benefits are not automatic. To qualify a worker must have paid a minimum level of social security taxes and worked at least 40 quarters during their working lives (John, 2005). Workers earn a credit for each three month period in which they earn at least $900.00 (John, 2005). The amount of monthly benefits that is paid out to a qualified individual depends on the worker’s income history. Once a worker has worked the required periods and satisfied the social security minimum contributions then they are qualified (John, 2005).

A retired worker can start receiving benefits as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. However, the full and normal retirement age is 65 (SSA). The worker’s retirement benefits are calculated by using the worker’s highest 35 years taxed earnings. For example, if the...