It wasn t a bad deal, either, for those who retired in the 1940s, with average payouts equaling a 36 percent annual rate of return, after inflation, on their Social Security taxes. Today, it s a different story. If they re lucky, the rate of return for today s young workers will be in the 1 to 2 percent range a lower rate of return than a very conservative investment like government bonds, and a poor payback compared to what can be earned in an ordinary mutual fund.
Nothing is guaranteed under the current system.
In the 1960 case, Ephram Nestor paid into the system for 19 years before being deported as an undesirable alien. Congress then authorizes benefit payments out of general assets to those people it deems eligible. The citizen has no property interest in the scheme. There is no segregated account. There is no insurance contract.