--- In [email protected], off_world_beings <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "sparaig" <sparaig@> wrote: > > > > --- In [email protected], MDixon6569@ wrote: > > > > > > > > > In a message dated 3/10/07 4:01:32 P.M. Central Standard Time, > > > eflood@ writes: > > > > > > > > > Now, the following are the senators who voted to give illegal > aliens > > > Social Security benefits. They are grouped by home state. If a > state > > > is not listed, there was no voting representative. > > > > > > You're aware that you don't get SS benefits unless you paid into > the system, right?> >
> Can anyone enlighten me as to what exactly would a person get from > SS, if lets say, they paid into it for 20 years? How much does the > average Joe get at the end of all that, and what else do they get? > > From a Brit...lost in America. > > OffWorld > ********* One is eligible for Social Security payments if they have earned a small amount of money for 40 quarters in a lifetime (and if one has earned nothing, they would be eligible for SSI at age 65 just by virtue of being old and poor even if they never paid a dime into the system). Social Security is canted toward the poor -- it's a safety net, so payments are disportionate, with most of the benefits going to low earners, and less, considering how much they paid in, to the middle and upper classes. Most people opt for the reduced (75%) monthly payment at age 62, which for most middle-class earners is about $950/month currently -- if you wait til age 70 to start collecting, you get 125% of the amount that you would get if you retired at 66 or 67. You can figure all your future payments from calculators at the SS site. http://www.ssa.gov/planners/calculators.htm Regarding undocumented aliens collecting Social Security, they are currently paying about $7 billion a year into the Social Security system, with no possibility of getting paid at retirement because they are not legal residents. It's only fair that people who are paying taxes should get some benefits, but in the current political climate, it's unlikely that Congress is going to have the guts to pay out to these workers who are participating in the American economy regardless of whether they have the proper papers or not (the Senate OKed payments to illegals on a close vote, but the House likely will not). http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/05/business/05immigration.html http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060518-114132-2456r.htm
