A hypothetical question.
Let’s say that I was to renounce my citizenship of the U.S.A. Would I be entitled to a refund of all of the money I have paid in to Social Security?
It seems like I should but I can’t find a definite answer.So what’s the Straight Dope?
Well, my mom is not a citizen and she’s still required to pay social security-so my vote would be no.
Oops, I meant to add that I would be moving out of the U.S. immediately after renouncing citizenship.
The funding for Social Security is really a pyramid scheme: the original recipients did not actually pay into it. Instead, money was taken from working people to pay for those folks, then the next generation of workers was taxed to pay THOSE folks, etc. That’s why peopple are
worried that Social Security is going to fail in the near future: time is running out. So I definitely think you cannot take it with you.
No refund Chief.
You would still be eligible for benefits under certain circumstances. Really depends on what country you settle in and if you seek another nation’s citizenship.
Information for that is here: www.ssa.gov/international/your_ss.html
OK, please do not turn this into a Great Debate. I am fully aware of the nature of the SSA and that there is not a little savings account in D.C. with my money in it. However, I do have records of the amount of money I have “contributed” and would like to know if I could get it back by opting out of the whole system.
Of course the above is directed at scratch1300, and also a hearty welcome to the SDMB.
This isn’t much help, but I have heard of people who got out of paying SS by signing documents stating that they would never receive any SS benefits. The way it was presented to me sounded very fishy, but a quick search at Snopes didn’t find anything. I’m not inclined to believe it’s true, but if anybody else knows something about it, I’d love to know.
It is possible to opt out of Social Security in a few cases. Amish opt out regularly because receiving SS benefits conflicts with their religious beliefs AND they have demonstrated to the government that they will take care of their own. Ministers also have the opt out option available for the same reasons. Two things, though, are made absolutely clear: 1. If you opt out you do NOT get back any money that you may have contributed; and 2. Once you opt out you may never return for any reason.
The number of situations where someone can “opt out” of social security is extremely limited, if indeed they exist at all. (I’m not at work, I will try to check this in the next day or two.)
Social security “contributions” are an employment tax. There is no “refund” and there is no “opting out”, any more than there is “opting out” of income tax. Social security is not tied to citizenship, it is tied to employment. And it is not an individual savings plan, it is a government program. You might as well tell the government that you’re not going to drive, and so you’d like a refund of the amount of income tax you’ve paid for roads. It just don’t work that way.
U.S. taxpayers who are self-employed (this includes many clergy) pay BOTH the employee and the employer portion of social security, they pay MORE, not less.
In the past, there were some opportunities for employers (specifically, hospitals) to opt out of social security, and there were groups that were not covered,like the railroad workers and federal employees. Most of those opportunities exist no longer.