Why can't I opt out of social security?

The way it stands, I get the strong impression that social security benefits others at my expense. Theft.

If social security is for my own benefit, why can't I just opt out (stop paying and sign a waiver that will prevent me from receiving public assistance if my own plans for retirement fail)? After all, this wouldn't be a risk for anyone but myself, right?

ohh don't get me started on the social security issue it pisses me off. i'm losing like a grand a year for someone else and the money won't even ****** be there when it's my turn. there was actually a bill up for approval that would have allowed you to have your personal social security but it was rejected.

Because the government needs your money.

Because, if you became injured or elderly and your fam dumped you on the Govt. who would take care of you? This isn't like 'Soylent Green', we can't just 'recycle' your carcass, therefore, as pathetic and inefficient as it is, it is your only option at this point. I don't care for it either but, welcome to the system of the man! man.

I had a college professor back in 1998 who said Social Security was optional and that there are no laws making it mandatory to contribute. The fact that people contribute is more out of tradition and not law. If you chose not to contribute, you can do it...the hard part will be convincing your employer to not deduct it from your paycheck. Of course, I've got nothing to back this up other than my professor's words. Good Luck!

The big reason right now is because much of the American economy is based on the assumption that those Social Security checks are going to keep coming. As the baby boomers start retiring, it will get more critical because younger people need to pay into the system for there to be money to pay out benefits to retirees.

The Social Security system is broken and really needs to be overhauled. The laws and regulations were designed when it was a much different country... people are living much longer than they used to, which is the big drain on the Social Security pool, and working longer which raises their final benefit amount. People living longer means more people on the rolls than planned (they are still alive so you still gotta pay them) and people staying on the rolls longer.

Anyway... if you could opt out, in the first place it would be impossible to guarantee that the government would not get stuck paying for your final expenses unless you put money in some sort of trust account and that's just too complicated to try and make happen at a governmental level. Plus if you became exempt, everyone would want to be exempt too (I sure would!) and while this would make some of our workforce very, very happy (like me!!!), the people who are already retire would see their benefits dry up really quickly. This would leave thousands in abject poverty (and it really is not fair to them--- the retirees are not the bad guys) AND would really rock the US economy. There are over 53 million Americans getting Social Security benefits at this time--- take away the income for that large a number of people and the economic impact is going to be huge. It also makes sense for the Government to oversee a portion of every worker's retirement planning via Social Security--- if you had loaded all of your retirement funds into dot.com stocks when the "bubble" burst, and you were close to retirement, you'd have gone broke and you'd either be homeless or getting government aid. Either way it is better for the government to make sure you can take care of yourself, instead of the government taking care of you.

So while it seems like a good idea to somehow become exempt, a better idea would be lobbying for responsible Social Security reform.

See below and find your own answers :)

You can't because your last statement about risk is incorrect. If you become broke then the public must support you. Doesn't mean you'll have your own house, but we'll be providing support to allow you to live.

Social security is a tax, the purpose of which is to ensure that NO ONE who is too old to work will have to live in poverty. You pay for own retirement benefits but you also pay for the benefit of those who earn less than you. The fact is that most Americans can't afford to save on their own. How many of you have jobs in which you are guaranteed pay increases that meet or exceed the annual cost of living? Social security is a shared expense, just like we share the costs of roads, fire, police, and other activities for the benefit of us all.