The amount of retirement benefits a person receives depends on several factors: More: 16 states offer tax-free weekends to help with school shopping. Social Security retirement benefits are meant to replace a portion of preretirement income based on a person's highest 35 years of earnings. The remaining 15 cents pays benefits to people with disabilities and their families.īecause Social Security is not solely a retirement program, age doesn't necessarily determine eligibility in all circumstances, and benefits can be paid to children and other dependents. Social Security pays more benefits to children than any other government program, according to the Social Security Administration. In 2020, 85 cents of every dollar of Social Security taxes pays benefits for retired workers and their families and survivor benefits to the spouses and children of workers who have died, according to the Social Security Administration. More: Social Security tips: 10 ways to get more money in benefits Some workers may ultimately receive more in benefits than they paid in Social Security taxes, and some may receive less. Workers pay Social Security taxes on their income, and that money is put into a trust fund used to pay individuals who are receiving Social Security benefits. The program also provides income to people who cannot work because of a disability, and pays a worker's dependents in the case of their death. The Social Security program uses federal income taxes to provide income to people when they retire. The term is also commonly used to refer to payments from employers and insurance companies.
"Benefit" is a blanket term for payments made to individuals from state or federal governments. The post's author did not respond to a request for comment. The percentage of income paid in Social Security taxes also varies depending on a person's employment situation and annual income. In fact, Social Security payments have been called "benefits" for the entirety of their existence, with retirement payments first identified in the Social Security Act of 1935 as "Old-Age Benefit Payments." While it is true that Social Security checks are referred to as federal benefits, this is not a recent development. More: Fact check: What's true and what's false about face masks? The post also claims that Social Security taxes "totaled 15% of our income before taxes." "It is our money paid out of our earned income! Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too." The claim: Social Security checks will soon be called "Federal Benefit Payments."Ī Facebook post shared by thousands decries the federal government for allegedly giving Social Security checks a new name: "Federal Benefit Payments."