Читать книгу Social Security For Dummies - Peterson Jonathan, Jonathan Peterson - Страница 22

The taxes you pay in your working years pay for the benefits for retirees and other beneficiaries who no longer are working. This approach is called “pay as you go.” Think of it as a pipeline that goes from current workers to current beneficiaries.

What the government does with your payroll tax contributions has long been a source of rumor, misunderstanding, and strongly held views. Here are the facts: The Social Security payroll tax deducted from your wages goes into two U.S. Treasury accounts, where it’s used to pay for benefits. Most of the money — about 85 percent — goes into the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund; the remainder goes into the Disability Insurance Trust Fund. These combined trust funds are quite large, with assets of slightly more than $2.9 trillion at the end of 2018.

Tax revenues above and beyond what’s needed to pay benefits are invested in special Treasury securities. These bonds have historically provided extra income for Social Security. Some critics argue that the trust funds could go belly up if the Treasury doesn’t make good on its borrowing. But these bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, which is still considered a safe investment by investors all over the world.

Although Social Security gets most of its income from payroll taxes, a smaller share comes from interest and some income tax revenues paid by the affluent on their Social Security benefits. (See Chapter 13 for a discussion of income taxes and Social Security.)