And how does it even work? Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications (🔔) so you don't miss any videos: http://goo.gl/0bsAjO This video is presented by Metro by T-Mobile. Metro has no editorial influence on our videos, but their support makes videos like these possible. There’s no denying that Americans rely heavily on Social Security benefits. Estimates from the Social Security Administration found that 97% of adults over the age of 60 are either collecting or will start collecting Social Security. As of February 2023, about one in every five residents in the US collected benefits from these funds. For such a widely used program, it’s a bit surprising that people in the US know so little about how it works. To be fair, most of the news around this program over the past decade has been about how it’s doomed in one way or another. Millennials and younger may see the money being taxed from their paychecks and believe they’ll probably never see it again, but is the program really destined to fail? And what do we stand to lose if it does? Check out the video above to get the most basic facts about Social Security in the United States and what to expect in the coming years. Help keep Vox free for everybody: http://www.vox.com/give-now From doing your taxes for free to filing your first return, Vox has you covered: https://www.vox.com/even-better-guide-to-tax-season Sources and further reading: You can find more interesting history of Social Security and an FAQ sheet here: https://www.ssa.gov/history https://www.ssa.gov/history/briefhistory3.html For more on who collects (and who doesn’t): https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/population-profiles/fully-insured-workers.html For more on how Social Security helps lift Americans out of poverty: https://blog.ssa.gov/poverty-data-shows-why-social-security-matters-to-women-and-people-of-color/ https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/social-security-lifts-more-people-above-the-poverty-line-than-any-other For more on how Social Security is funded including data on the trust funds: https://www.nasi.org/learn/social-security/where-do-social-security-taxes-go/ https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/WhatAreTheTrust.htm https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4a3.html