Write 5 pages thesis on the topic social security trust fund. When one discusses the Social Security Trust Fund, it is almost always assumed that this means the fund that is responsible for paying out benefits to those individuals who have paid into the system and are now drawing a form of retirement from it. However, this is only part of the equation. The fact of the matter is that the Social Security Trust Fund is comprised of two separate funds. The first of these is of course the OASI Trust Fund (Old Age and Survivors Insurance Fund). whereas the second is that of the DI Fund (Disability Fund). Whereas the first fund is the one that is, of course, the largest and is most referenced within the media and concerns over budgeting etc, the second one is lesser-known and is primarily responsible for providing payments to those individuals who had been working at one point but due to injury or illness are no longer capable of performing work. Combined, both programs owe the American people approximately 2.93 trillion dollars as of the end of 2011.
The fact of the matter is that in order to fund a single Social Security recipient, it requires several payees due to the fact that but a small percentage of the salary is deducted and earmarked for Social Security taxes. Such an eventuality is one of the reasons that the death of Social Security, at least under the given constructs, is all but assured (Aaron 391). Due to the fact that the need that Social Security seeks to provide is virtually unchanging, a safety net for retirement-aged individuals who have paid into the system their entire lives and have planned their financial affairs in later life on the premise that Social Security will at least supplement the other forms of retirement they may have, the need is unaltered. . However, the fact that ultimately changes Social Security and the level to which it can continue to be provided for is the shift in the demographic alongside the high liabilities and level of borrowing that the federal government has already engaged upon with respect to funding other programs from the seeming largesse that the Social Security Trust Fund represented.
