Social Security and Your Political Status

The Social Security Act of 1935

A reoccurring question continues to emerge as to whether or not the Social Security Number (SSN) or Social Security Insurance (SSI) is used in any way as it pertains to becoming a national or if becoming a national will affect receiving social security benefits/entitlements or in receiving social security payments/ life annuity.

Before we answer that question, we must first understand social security insurance as to what it is and what it is used for. Social security began in 1935 when Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. Collecting social security from individuals wages didn’t begin until 1937 and payments to eligible individuals did not start until 1940.

What is social security insurance and what is it’s intent?

The intent of social security was for the government to provide social insurance to the American people and as stated in the act itself is that it is a safeguard “against the hazards and vicissitudes of life”. So does the intention correlate to reality? Of course, intentions don’t always correlate to realty. Some think that social security insurance is a means of social control masked in good intentions.

On this note, to this day, many Americans are completely dependent upon social security payments or social security benefits. Does complete dependency on the government override the fact that it does allow people to literally survive, where perhaps if they didn’t have the payment or the benefit they could not live day to day? Does receiving SS benefits or payments discourage or de-incentivize people from working or contributing to society when otherwise they could? These are all good questions, but we’ll leave the answers to a later discussion. Let’s get back on track to discuss the original questions of what is SSI and if or how it may affect your status as a national or if being a national will affect receiving SSI benefits or payments.

Social Security Insurance is essentially a life annuity that is voluntary to participate in, like any other annuity. But unlike any other annuity, with SSI we are compelled, and to some degree coerced, to participate. You may remember when you first entered the job market, perhaps as a teenager, it was implied or directly stated to you that you must have a Social Security Number to be able to work. Thus, you signed up and were in the system. After that and throughout your life, every employer that was registered with the government as a business, became a collection agent for the federal government. Businesses withheld federal income taxes and funds for SSI from your wages your entire working career.

So how are these funds used?

The SSI funds withheld from your wages, and from millions of other Americans, are used to subsidize both social security annuity payments and social security benefits/entitlements. You may ask, what is difference between Social Security payments and Social Security benefits? In short, payments are what go to individuals that are vested and receive payments at retirement age. SS benefits or entitlements can be received by individuals that may or may not be vested. Being vested is when an individual has paid into the SS system and is able to receive payments at retirement. To be vested an individual must have paid into the system through withholding from their wages and earn 40 credits. Each credit is an amount of withholding of $1640. So the amount of time needed to be vested can vary based on one’s income.

Another purpose, and perhaps the original intent of the social security system is to surveil and track every monetary transaction associated with an individual’s SSN. This tracking of an individual’s monetary transactions through a SSN is one of the ways that the federal government monitors the value of the bonds created by your future life productivity at the time of your birth. See the article: How did it happen?

Although SSI is closely tied to the federal government and the SSN is used for identity and credit purposes, when it was never intended to be used in this fashion, it is separate as it relates to your political status or even national origin. It’s not a requirement to be a U.S. Citizen to participate in the social security system. So, regardless if you participate in the social security system or not, it will not affect your political status. Bottom line, if you’re vested, whether you’re a U.S. Citizen, a national, or any other nation’s citizen, you are eligible to receive SS payments at retirement.

In summary

It is important to have at least a general understanding of social security insurance, but more importantly is that it does NOT have any effect or impact on reclaiming your national political status. Even more importantly, if you’re already a national and vested, you will receive your Social Security payments at retirement. Bottom line, Social Security is not a nexus to a political status.

What are your thoughts on Social Security?