Social Security has long been the United States government's most popular .
Many Americans have little knowledge about how it operates and how its .
benefits compare with the returns from other retirement investments. Even though.
millions of Americans are deluded to thinking that Social Security maintains a savings .
account in each of their names with money in it, in reality, there is no direct connection .
between the amount of taxes paid and the benefits an individual eventually receives in .
retirement. In addition, the rate of return on Social Security retirement taxes is extremely .
low. For example, the average rate of return for a household of two hard-working 30-.
year-old earners with children is a lowly 1.2 percent. Most people do not realize that .
since the trust funds consist of trillions of dollars of IOUs, Social Security will be unable .
to pay full benefits to anyone born after 1974 unless the system is reformed. This where I .
determine whether the provisions of a re-vamped Social Security bill is indeed .
formidable. .
The YSSS(Your Social Security Statement) provides official information on the .
benefits that people are entitled to receive during retirement. However, it discounts .
important information about Social Security's future. The statements include an .
accounting of Social Security taxes the individual worker has paid to date, the worker's .
eligibility for benefits, and an estimate of the various types of benefits the worker and/or .
family could receive under different circumstances. It neglects to mention that although .
workers are told that a specific dollar amount from Social Security is due to them, the .
money may not be there when they retire. One of the provisions of this new bill calls for .
the elimination of all criteria for determining payments except for Social Security taxes .
paid. Under this provision, the present value of lifetime Social Security taxes paid would .
