Frank Raymond
COM/172
May 9, 2011
Barbara Plourde
Persuasive Essay Final Paper
Americans need to plan for retirement so they do not have to rely solely on Social Security income to care for them financially after that point. This year the Social Security Administration is projecting, it will collect less in payroll taxes than it pays out in retirement, disability, and survivor benefits. Even though the government economists are saying that the economy and social security will balance out after the Baby Boom era of retirees passes on. The federal government because of shortfalls in revenue, is currently finding money from elsewhere to help pay for social security benefits. People, who have a pension, 401k, or saving funds, do not have to rely solely on social security benefits to live after retirement.
In 1935, under President Roosevelt’s administration, the Social Security Act signed into law. Payroll taxes began in 1937 and after a grace period, in which a reserve fund could accumulate, the first monthly benefit checks begun to pay pensioners in 1940. Individuals, who retired and did not work long enough to pay into the program were could receive one-time “lump-sum” payments for their contributions to the program. The original design of this act was financially to aid the retired after they reach the age of 65, payees who have become disabled, or surviving family members of a deceased payee. Many changes were made to Social Security, even before the first checks where written and have continued to be made to the program. In 1980, the Social Security Administration made changes that tightened the eligibility requirements to make it harder for people to receive benefits (DeWitt, 2010).
More than 54 million people receive benefits from Social Security with an average of $1,076 per month. This number will grow by the millions over the next few years because of the rise of the number of Baby Boomers reaching the age of
References: DeWitt, l. Social Security Bulletin, 70(3), 1-26 (,January 2011). Social Security on Pace to be Drained by 2037. CBSNews. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/ Walsh, M. Williams. (,March 2010). Social Security to See Payout to Exceed Pay-in This Year. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/