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Since Social Security was signed into law on Aug. 14, 1935 there has never been a missed payment. But now as the third Wednesday of the month draws near, I'm very apprehensive about going into my bank account to see if the deposit is there. I have several bills that are automatically withdrawn from my account and if my Social Security money isn't there, I will not just be overdrawn, I will be in serious trouble.
Former Social Security Commissioner Martin O'Malley warned in a recent issue of Fortune magazine, "Ultimately, you're going to see the [social security] system collapse and an interruption of benefits. I believe you will see that within the next 30 to 90 days,” he said, adding that 'people should start saving now' before payments stop." But when you are making just enough to get by month to month, there is nothing left to squirrel away. Many of the 68 million + people who receive Social Security have no other source of income. The average monthly payment is just over $1,600. You do the math!
What did people do before Social Security? Usually they lived with their children or a younger relative when they became too old or unable to support themselves. If they had no one to take them in, they were sent to poorhouses. Shades of Charles Dickens! Will we go back there?
It's not just those who receive Social Security benefits that would be hurt by the system failing. Funds collected and not paid out to recipients must be invested in U.S. Treasury bonds. Basically, this means Social Security is lending the country money which Congress can use for whatever it wants. So the whole country would suffer if Social Security goes under.
Elon Musk has accused the Social Security Administration of paying benefits to people who, according to the Social Security database, are 150 or 300 years old. But this claim has been debunked because there are some people whose date of death was not known. Those he cites are not receiving benefits. Only 13 people above the age of 112 are collecting.
Musk also made headlines by saying that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. But the March 2025 issue of Current Affairs refutes this and explains in detail why this is not true. "Because both Social Security and Ponzi schemes take money in from new contributors which they pay to old ones, it is easy to craft a superficial resemblance between them. But Social Security is not a Ponzi scheme...Musk, not for the first time, doesn't know what he's talking about."
People misunderstand how Social Security works. It is not like a 401K or other retirement plan that you pay into during your work life and then withdraw upon retirement. While you are working, you are paying retirement benefits to those who are already retired. Then when you retire, those who are working pay your benefits. Current Affairs explains, "The only reason it matters that retirees do not pay for their own benefits, but depend on the payments of the next generation of workers, is that if there isn't a next generation of workers, we do in fact have a problem. But fortunately, there is every reason to believe that human beings will continue to exist, work, and pay Social Security taxes."
Social Security reserves are estimated to be gone sometime between 2033 and 2041. After that 77 to 83 per cent of benefits would be paid. That is if Trump and Musk don't decimate it before then. There is an easy way to solve the problem that is rarely mentioned. Only income up to $168,600 is taxed by Social Security. An individual making more than that pays no FICA on higher income. People like Musk and Trump only pay up to that. If the ceiling were lifted, imagine the windfall that would pour into the coffers from their millions and billions of income.
But solving problems doesn't seem to be in the bailiwick of this administration. Their modus operandi is to just hit the delete button.
Verna Caruso is a native of Muncy, who now resides in Williamsport. She is a former staff member at Inc. magazine and former Chair of the Lycoming County Democratic Committee.