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September 21, 2010 at 08:00 PM
Social Security turned 75 last month, and many facets of this huge institution are not widely known. Here are seven things you should know about Social Security, according to an article by U.S. News and World Report reporter Emily Brandon.
1. It’s not only a retirement program. Disability benefits and payments for a beneficiary’s spouse and children were added to the program. Annual mailings to all workers age 25 and older include an estimated amount you would be paid if you become disabled and how much your spouse and children would receive if you should pass away.
2. You pay 6.2 percent of your income into the system. Ninety-four percent of American workers pay 6.2 percent of their taxable income, up to $106,800 annually, into the fund. Employers pay a matching 6.2 percent for each worker. Self-employed workers must contribute 12.4 percent of their income annually.
3. Annual cost-of-living adjustments didn’t exist until 1975. Before 1975, an act of Congress was required to increase benefits to keep up with consumer prices. Now increases in payments are tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. Increases have ranged from 1.3 percent in 1996 and 1998 to 14.3 percent in 1980. In 2010, there was no cost of living adjustment because the index did not increase between the third quarter of 2008 and 2009.
4. Retirees can increase annual payments by waiting to claim. Workers can begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 62. But payouts increase by 7 to 8 percent for each year you delay your start date, up until age 70.
