Private Retirement Benefits and Social Security Working Together
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: August 19, 2021
On August 14, 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt said, “We can never insure 100 percent of the population against 100 percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-stricken old age.”
Nearly 81 years later, Social Security provides the foundation for retiring Americans that President Roosevelt imagined when he signed the program into law. The latest figures report that nearly 59 million Americans were receiving retirement, disability or survivors’ benefits from Social Security. Each year, nearly 15 million elderly Americans are lifted out of poverty by Social Security, proving that the program is indeed a crucial part of a secure retirement.
While Social Security provides a strong foundation for workers, the private retirement system also plays a key role in ensuring the economic well-being of retired Americans. Over 115 million workers receive retirement benefits through plans provided by their employers. In addition, the number of retirees receiving income from private retirement plans continues to increase.
On February 5, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce held a retirement forum focused on the success of employer-provided retirement systems. Panelists and speakers offered guidelines to help support the voluntary employment-based retirement benefits system and identified ways to encourage innovation and flexibility in the private retirement system. In addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also released a white paper at the event entitled, “Private Retirement Benefits in the 21st Century: Achieving Retirement Security,” which recommends a series of steps to further bolster the private retirement system.
The true success story, however, is the combination of Social Security and employer-provided retirement benefits. Working hand in hand, the private retirement system and Social Security can ensure that millions of Americans keep receiving the stable and secure income that they deserve.
To educate companies on the benefits of this partnership, the Chamber and the Social Security Administration are co-sponsoring a conference, entitled “Promoting Retirement Security Makes Good Business Sense” on April 5, 2016 at 8:45 ET. The discussion will center on promoting the partnership between the Social Security and the business community to support a secure retirement for workers. We will also discuss how the current Social Security retirement program can supplement employer-provided retirement savings. I encourage you to tune in to the live webcast at US Chamber Live Webcast.
Have a question you would like to see answered on the day of the event? Post your question to @SSAOutreach using the hashtag #RETSCC and watch the live webcast to see if your question was chosen on the day of the event.
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About the Author
Randy Johnson, Senior Vice President, Labor, Immigration, & Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Randy Johnson, Senior Vice President, Labor, Immigration, & Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Comments
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Sandi
I wanted to wait longer to apply for benefits, but a $250.00 increase in my rent is forcing me to apply. I do receive a monthly pension check from my State employment but it isn’t enough to cover the higher rent, food, utilities, medical bills, clothes, and transportation costs, without receiving a social security check.
Retired
Owning a home eliminates paying rent.
David R.
DUMB! If they can not afford paying rent, they probably can not afford to buy a home!
Lynell
That’s a brilliant answer to an intsteering question
Ms. J.
Thanks for sharing the diverse comment regarding the experiences the taxpaying citizens shared with you. I was impressed with the articulation used in each comment. It was difficult to read their experiences and, not feel passion and anger. I have been equally despondent by the injustice meted out to the hard working Americans who seldom receive the rewards of being loyal hard working citizens, and contributors to the success of our Country’s overall image,
It is time for the the “top percent ” to volunteer their share of taxes, to redistribute their abundance of wealth, that our Government,(National Banks, Federal Tax (income system), allowed to receive
and protect through tax loopholes. These institutions in their exploits destroyed the moral and ethical conscience of our society. Thus creating a two tier economic system . 1. Trillionaires 2. Modest $ Incomes, creating a population of Indenture Servants; who will never be able to retire and spend a quality life with their families. This is the real injustice of Capitalism.
Susan
Sounds like you’ll be voting for Bernie Sanders. My answer to you is, if you think Socialism is a better system of government, please, please move to Canada or Europe where you will have your choice of many countries that are ruled by Socialists. Just leave the United States alone. Actually, a Communist country might be more to your liking….”From each according to his ability To each according to his need”. If you believe this statement is correct, you will never be satisfied in a capitalist society. There are lots of people who believe and want to live according to that maxim. Good for you….move to a country where you will be happy and won’t need to, nor will you be allowed to, blog and complain about people who have more than you do.
Marc
Hear, hear. The 1% not having to contribute to Social Security is the cause of any problems it’s having, in addition to the wealthy corporations sending jobs overseas, which causes fewer people to be working who contribute to Social Security. Frankly, I’m of the opinion that these wealthy vultures are the cause of most, if not all, our country’s problems.
dave
why do you think the top 1% does not pay SS tax? If they draw a check / salary then they pay ss tax. not saying that we don’t all hate the top 1% but they don’t really get an out. of course the max they pay for ss is based on the max allowable that is taxed (I think it’s like $120K). the reason behind this is that there is a max SS benefit you can get and it’s based on a max of taxing on $120K a year. millionaires aren’t going out of their way to save $5k a year or something by not paying SS…it’s not worth the effort to try to circumvent it…
Toeur
I need help if I’ m retire in 2017 and I want to take a lump some money from 401 so SSI will not give me my money that I put in SSI?
Hal
In the third Republican Debate on October 28,2015 part of the transcript was about
How the government stole money out of our paychecks earmarked for Social Security and used .
CHRISTIE, let me be honest with the people who are watching at home. The government has lied to you and they have stolen from you. They told you that your Social Security money is in a trust fund. All that’s in that trust fund is a pile of IOUs for money they spent on something else a long time ago.
And they’ve stolen from you because now they know they cannot pay these benefits and Social Security is going to be insolvent in seven to eight years.We’re sitting up here talking about all these other things; 71 percent of federal spending today is on entitlements, and debt service. And, that’s with zero percent interest rates.
Now, I’m the only person that’s put out a detailed plan on how to deal with entitlements. And we’ll save a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. And, here’s the difference between me and Hillary Clinton. What Hillary Clinton’s going to say, and has said before is, she wants to raise Social Security taxes.
the American people — forget about anything else, they’ve already been lied to and stolen from.
CHRISTIE: …I’m going to go to Washington to stop it…
HUCKABEE: Well, I would really appreciate that. First of all, yes, we’ve stolen. Yes, we’ve lied to the American people about Social Security, and Medicare.
But, you know what we’re not telling them? It’s their money. This isn’t the governments money. This is not entitlement, it’s not welfare. This is money that people have confiscated out of their paychecks. Everytime they got a paycheck, the government reached in and took something out of it before they ever saw it. Now, we’re going to blame the people.
Today congress decided to take another $150 billion dollars away from Social Security so they can borrow more money. That makes no sense to everybody. And, they’re always going to say, “Well, we’re going to fix this one day.”
HUCKABEE: …we need to honor our promises…
HUCKABEE: …This is a matter not of math, this is a matter of morality. If this country that does not keep its promise to seniors then what promise can this country hope to be trusted to keep? And, the fact is, none of them.
CHRISTIE: So, let’s stop fooling around about this, let’s tell people the truth. For once, let’s do that, and stop trying to give them some kind of fantasy that’s never going to come true.
HUCKABEE: Folks, the government has no business stealing even more from the people who have paid this in. I just want to remind you, people paid their money. They expect to have it. And, if this government doesn’t pay it, than tell me what’s different between the government and Bernie Madolf, who sits in prison today for doing less than what the government has done to the people on social security and Medicare in this country.
Retired
I get over $1500 from my private pension and $1,600 from social security, so I don’t understand how these people lose money because of getting a pension other than from social security.
R.F.
A “private pension” does not affect your Social Security benefits. A pension based on work that is not covered by Social Security (for example, Federal civil service and some State or local government agencies) may cause the amount of your Social Security benefit to be reduced.
Your benefits can be reduced based on one of two provisions. Your own Social Security benefit can be reduced based on the Windfall Elimination Provision. Your spouse’s, divorced spouse’s, surviving divorced spouse’s or widow’s benefits under Social Security may be affected by the Government Pension Offset.
David R.
I get two separate private pensions and a Social Security pension. Both of the private pensions have deducted up to 1/2 of my calculated pensions for a so called “Social Security Rollback” because they paid for half of the SS premiums. They both claim to have paid premiums for 35 years, but I worked for 15 years at the first company and for 20 years at the second company! The deductions are $900 +$439 respectively at each company. I am cheated out of $1339 per month which equals $16068 per year! The company I worked for fewer years at lower wages deducts the most!
Hal
what really needs to be asked is whether or not we should continue to leave monetary and banking policy in the discretionary hands of central banks and the monetary central planners who manage them.
If there is one lesson to be learned from the history of the last one hundred years – during which the world and the United States moved off the gold standard and onto a government-managed fiat, or paper, money system – is the fundamental disaster of placing control of the money supply in the hands of governments.
Today the process has become even easier through the mere click of a “mouse” on a computer screen, which in the blink of an eye can create tens of billions of dollars out of thin air.
Roseanna
It’s a real plareuse to find someone who can think like that
DAVID K.
I served 45 years in serving the United States and now am getting messed over by the United States. I served 25 years in the military and 20 years in civil service. I have ran into 2 very bad situations I do not think is right. After serving and paying Social Security over those 45 years the Social Security rules say unless my wife is a United States Citizen she cannot claim from my Social Security. I think I earned it and my wife should be able to claim it when she turns 65.There are others that have not served and wives have not worked at all and are allowed to draw on their husbands Social Security. Would you please help me with this?
My second request I am requesting help with is my wife will be able to claim the military SBP but the draw back is Social Security will take out 30% tax on it. I think that is a big exuberant, don’t you.
Also I pay SBP for her to get when I die. Social Security will not allow her to get social security because she if s Philippino citizen but they are right there to tax big time out of her SBP allowance when I die. SSS if you are not goin to help a Philipino then stay the HELL OUT OF THE MONEY I PAY FOR HER TO LIVE ON WHEN I DIE.. Do you ever wonder so many complaints???????!!!!!!!!
Thank you very much for any help you can give me!!
David Knutson
E:MAIL: toyotamr2gt@hotmail.com
MATTHEW F.
I 75 old, 6 yrs army, worked since I was 12. retired f these t Chicago fire dept. 20yrs. ssi cut my benefts 300.00!Is this is what GOV, is suppose to be?. why are they using ss money to start wars. why are the GOV. giving our money to countries that kidnap americans. Kill Americans where is our reward for fighting for these people. It costs money to fight, What do we get out of it. Get our benefits cut in half or more. MayBE TRUMP HAS THE RIGHT IDEA,FIRE THE CONG ANDTHE SENATORS
John S.
If you worked at a job that did not pay into SS, such as some federal civil service employees before 1987, some railroad employees, some school teachers, and others, you are not eligible to draw SS retirement. If you did draw SS retirement without paying into the SS fund, you would be getting free money from the taxpayers. Where as those that draw SS retirement had to pay SS taxes for several years and their SS retirement is a partial return of the SS taxes they paid while you did not have to pay those taxes.
anonymous
I’m appalled at all I’v just read on SSI.
g people there are lawyers that specialize in getting you your due s. they used to eork for ss.if not for tjem od been on the streets. 10 yrs ago while going to work I was rear ended while exiting freeway .i daw the kid onnvell phone h racted for impact my car was 1982 special edition Camero no airbags, nut worth a lot in mimt comdition,it WAS PART OF RETIREMENT due to its value. yhe point being this kif hit me twice still on his cell,as my neck and head wrenched back and forth many tmes each hitting my steering wheel ,i saw his air bag go off,STILL ON HIS CELL!
I avoided hitting anyone my nody was thrown around do bad dear belt intact .My injuries to my nevk head back why were do bad couldn’t keep working
filed for Sri disability @59. paying into SS since 14 yrs old I was emancipated minor at 15,special case told my AS would always be there if I paid in enough to see me through “Golden YEARS” I WORKED 54 YEARS NO 501k nothing, i had my own company in my 20,s.
OK SSDI DENIED ME YEARS, I COULD. NOT USR MY LEHS SRMS. NO FAMILY ,wad owny own @14. the gov used that against me but od paid a butt load of dr in all those yrs.
MY STORY SHORTENED WAS MUDHOTE BUT I GOT A AS LAWYER NO CODT TILL SETTLEMENT, IN AX ONLY CAN TAKE 10% OF BACK $$ in DSL I didn’t get all the re they denied me. yes I got a lump sum hot on ssdi at 76 am now on reg AS retirment at same amount IF NO LAWYER, I’D HAVE DIED SICK ,HOMELESS I’M THE STREETS. A SOCIAL SECURITY SPECIALIST WILL TAKE YOUR CASE HELP YOU GET whats yours. they are bound by law to only get a ONE time 10% of then back pay of ss you wre due waiting jobless trying to do it yourself. I’ve passed this to many, helping them get there SIS ,SAID
YOUR $IS YOURS AT HIGHER RATES THAN YOU THINK
I GET HELP WITH MY CONDO PAYMENT, health is lots lowets my phone and utilitys.PEOPLE WE ARE NOW CONSIDERED LOW INCOME THERE IS HELP .CALL MEDICARE CALL YOU LOW INCOME HELP BOARD most of all call your stste agency for the elderly. good luck hope I’ve helped despite my omg accident story ,get was the part that put me out of ,job home no pay, went to mental health dept in my state it all starts there. no I’m not crazy
sorry, looks like my spell ck didn’t work, also was just advised it was repeated. sorry ,first time I’ve done this I feel same ss all of you.