Can you really "give back" your Social Security Number?

I was recently told that you can literally "give back" your Social Security Number. That, with all of the problems in the government and the management of our Social Security, someone can actually elect to opt out of the Social Security program and cash out whatever contribution they've made so far. I know the identity, medical care, license, work, and housing problems associated with not having one. I'm curious though, about the actual legality of it.

Can you really give it back if you are willing to put up with the inconvenience? Could you earn more if you were to invest that money yourself, with the shape that the Social Security Program is in? Is that a financially wise move to make? Is it even technically, legally possible?

Although they say that Social Security is a voluntary program, I don't ever remember signing up for it my self. I even remember reading that the program was voluntary, I read this article back in around 2004 or 2005 and I was some what shocked to see this. I always thought that it was kind of crazy that they could just take the money out and set it aside for you to be able to have it as part of your retirement.

I don't mean to go on about this but I have learned from experiance what it can mean to have this there for you when you need it to be.

I worked for many years and I thought that I was going to be able to make it to my retirement with out any problems. I had only 4 years left to be able to retire from my work place when my health was starting to totally fail me. I won't go into every thing that has happened. I just want you to be able to see that maybe it is a good thing.

I continued to try to work for the next two years, but it was such a struggle for me working in pain all of the time. I wasn't up to being able to do my job any more, I couldn't pull my own weight so to speak. In other words I was just barley eking by, it made me feel so frustrated. I knew how to do my job, better than most of the people there but due to the pain I was unable to do it any longer.

I finally had to admit to my self that I could no longer work, because of the medical problems that I was/am having. It was hard to face that I was possibly putting my fellow employee's as well as my self at risk by even being there attempting to work.

My only choice was to take a medical disability retirement so that I didn't have to work. I finally put in for my disability retirement and it was approved. All I can tell you is that I thank God that the money was there for me, I feel so blessed to be able to have that as well as my partial retirement from all the years that I had worked. And I was blessed to have some property as well so that has also helped me to be able to get by.

No you can't. It's a complete myth.

Apart from anything else, you haven't made any "contributions" to Social Security. SS is not a "contributory scheme", like a 401(k). Your FICA payments are not being invested to pay your future benefits, they're being used to pay todays beneficiaries.

Richard

I don't know who you have been talking to, but you cannot give back your SS number. You are born with it and you are stuck with it for life!

No, it is not legally or technically possible. This idea of 'opting out' was just popularized by these 'self sufficient, militia' type. It is not possible whatsoever to 'cash out' and get back what you've contributed.

You can't give back the number. You need it for bank accounts, employment, and many other forms of identification. Nor can you opt out of the program. It ain't much, but its all we've got.