Social Security is not mandatory so why do people sign up?

[flannagain]

Social Security is not mandatory so why do people sign up? There is NO LAW that states that an American citizen must have social security in order to work in the USA. Also if you signed the documents (CONTRACT) for social security and you were under the age of 18. The law states that a minor cannot engage in a legal binding agreement and shall be null and void. I signed up for SS when I was 16. If you answer that SS is mandatory then post the law that says it is with your answer!

[reid]

The OASDI tax rate for wages paid in 2012 is set by statute at 6.2 percent for employees and employers, each. http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/cbb.html

In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program.[1] The original Social Security Act[2] (1935) and the current version of the Act, as amended[3] encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs. The larger and better known programs are:

Federal Old-Age (Retirement), Survivors, and Disability Insurance
Unemployment benefits
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Health Insurance for Aged and Disabled (Medicare)
Grants to States for Medical Assistance Programs (Medicaid)
State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_%28United_States%29

[wardell]

most employers will not hire you if you do not sign up. furthermore, the employer still has to pay his share (6.2% of gross earning) even if an employee does not sign up. Check out FLEMING V. NESTOR . the government does not have to pay anybody anything from Social Security if they choose not to. Once the FICA tax is paid it is the government's money, no one else's. this sort of thing is very common in every police state.