Card 6: Social Security and You
Social Security and You
Social Security is the government retirement program you and your employer contribute to with each paycheck. It pays you back monthly upon retirement. Currently, around 69 million Americans receive Social Security payments.
Facts, Myths, and Threats
Social Security is an “entitlement” program, meaning everyone eligible is entitled to Social Security payments.
It’s a “mandatory” item in the federal budget, which means the government is required to make those payments.
Social Security makes up about 21% of the federal budget.
Myths and Misinformation
Social Security wasn’t supposed to be taxed: False.
- The Social Security Act allowed the taxation of payments. In 1983, Congress taxed 50% of benefits for high earners, increasing to 85% in 1993.
The Social Security trust fund is part of the general fund: False.
- Social Security appears in the federal budget for accounting purposes, but those funds are not part of the general fund and cannot be used for other needs.
Undocumented immigrants receive Social Security: False.
- Undocumented immigrants cannot obtain a Social Security number and so cannot receive payments. Yet they contribute to Social Security through the FICA tax deducted from their paychecks—over $25 billion every year that they will never get back as benefits.
Social Security pays people who are 150 years old or dead: False.
- By law, Social Security cannot pay anyone over 115 years old. If no date of death is available, the system assigns an age of 150 to prevent accidental payments.
Threats to Our Social Security
- Social Security Funding: Social Security has enough funds to cover benefits at current levels until 2035. Then, unless funding is increased, benefits will decrease to about 83%, backed by a tax on earnings up to $176,100. Congress considered raising the income cap to $400,000 but hasn’t approved it. Alternatives include increasing the eligibility age or reducing benefits.
- Staffing and Offices: The current Congressional budget bill calls for Social Security to reduce costs by firing about 7,000 employees this year and closing regional offices. In addition, DOGE has proposed shutting down phone services at Social Security offices.
- Elon Musk and DOGE, along with his unauthorized DOGE team, can now access Social Security computers and modify computer programs, such as payment schedules and amounts. A judge issued a temporary restraining order on March 20th, barring the Social Security Administration from granting Elon Musk and DOGE members access to sensitive records stored in the agency’s systems or from retaining sensitive data they had already obtained.
What Can You Do?
Contact your senators and representatives at (202) 224-3121 to oppose cuts to Social Security and prevent DOGE from continuing to access your private information.
Social Security and You
Printable Files
Please download and print this card in the format that works best for you. To learn more about the printing process, please refer to our How It Works page.
Facts for Card 6 – Social Security and You
Verification sources are listed below for your reference.
These links will take you outside this website and are not owned by us, so please note that if they are not working, we will do our best to fix the links.
- Judge Bars Social Security Officials From Giving DOGE Unredacted Data (NY Times gift link)
- Judge stops Musk’s team from ‘unbridled access’ to Social Security private data (Reuters)
- DOGE blocked in court from Social Security systems with Americans’ personal information, for now (AP)
- Social Security History (SSA)
- MYTHS AND MISINFORMATION ABOUT SOCIAL SECURITY- Part 2 (SSA)
- 10 Myths and Misconceptions About Social Security (AARP)
- Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants – ITEP
- Social Security Fact Sheet (SSA)
- Ex-Social Security official describes ‘significant’ risk of sensitive data going to wrong hands under DOGE (The Hill)
- ‘Big one to eliminate’: Elon Musk spotlights cost of federal entitlements amid fear of cuts to programs | (CNN Politics)
- What Are DOGE’s Plans for the Social Security Administration? (ProPublica)
- Yes, Social Security Is An ‘Entitlement’ (Forbes)
- Is Social Security An Entitlement? (Social Security Intelligence)
- How Much Longer Will Social Security Last? (AARP)
- How is Social Security Funded? (AARP)
- Should We Eliminate the Social Security Tax Cap? (Peterson Foundation)
- Can children and students get Social Security benefits? | Frequently Asked Questions (SSA)
- Policy Basics: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go? (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
- Common Budgetary Terms Explained (Congressional Budget Office)
- Government Spending Bill at Critical Point in Congress—How Would Social Security Fare? (Social Security Report)
- The most controversial changes proposed to save Social Security (MSN)
- Social Security Announces Workforce and Organization Plans (SSA)
