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Social Security
Definition
A program that exists in the U.S. which began in 1935. It acts like a defined benefit pension plan for most U.S. citizens and provides a basic level of income for elderly people to live on. Social security, in addition to retirement, can provide disability income and Medicare, Medicaid and death / survivor benefits.
Using the term Social Security :
You may begin collecting retirement benefits as early as age 62 and must begin collecting your benefit by age 67. If you defer to age 67, your benefit payments are higher.
Pay Special Attention To :
As many people know, with the "baby boomer" generation beginning to retire en masse, many people are concerned about the outlook of social security. The current payments are paid by today's workers and there will be more and more retired people in the future. There are some that predict civil unrest in the future as younger workers are forced to suffer the burden with less income in order to pay benefits to their grandparents and parents. Overall though, the much larger potential problem is health care expenses for the U.S. The magnitude of future health care expenses makes concerns over the social security trust fund look silly. Social security is a very valuable program though and the U.S. must find a way to continue it for its citizens in the future.
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Related terms
Defined Contribution Plan , Defined Benefit Pension Plan
