Social Security and Its Future

By Laura Reginelli

According to eHow, Social Security is “the common term for the U.S. government's group of public disability and pension schemes. Starting in 1935, they have collectively become the single largest social program in the United States. In modern times, the stability of Social Security has come into question due to an increasingly aging population placing greater demands on a stagnant or shrinking pool of resources.”

Due to shaky economic times recently, the future of Social Security is constantly being questioned. Many fear that it may disappear by the time that they can retire. According to experts, the system will be functioning to its maximum capacity until 2042, but around there the returns to workers will start to decrease quite dramatically.

In the meanwhile, Social Security serves as a means for both retirement and disability income which is funded by payroll taxes. Social Security essentially works in a cyclic pattern in which you give money to the system through your paycheck and that money goes to current retirees. Then when you are retired the money will be coming from payroll taxes of current employees.

Social Security is generally a heated topic of debate. Many are unsure of the future for the program, if it will continue and if it should be reformed to work differently. It is clear that it will continue to be an important topic of discussion as we go through this economically changing time period.

Sources: http://www.ehow.com/about_4587684_what-social-security.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

http://www.aflcio.org/issues/retirementsecurity/socialsecurity/ss_whatis.cfm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-social-security.htm