The Ultimate Social Security Quiz

You will receive a yearly statement from the Social Security Administration.

Currently, the Social Security payroll tax is 12.4% of wages up to $90,000. You share this expense with your employer, you pay 6.2% and so does your employer.

The funds are invested in interest-paying government bonds.

17 percent of Social Security payments are for disability benefits.

Fourteen percent of Social Security benefits are paid as survivor benefits. The surviving spouse and children of a deceased may receive Social Security survivor benefits.

Social Security benefits are a very important source of income for most retirees, but only about 20 percents depend on the benefits for 100 percent of their living expenses.

Early retirement starts at 62 and the full retirement age is determined by your birth year.

If born in 1945, you will be eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits at age 66.

Your benefits will be permanently reduced by about 20 percent if you start payments at age 62.

Benefits are increased by a cost-of-living adjustment which averages between 3 to 4 percent every year.

In addition to Social Security benefits, you should have personal savings and retirement funds to pay for your living expenses.

To qualify, you must have a mental or physical disability for at least 12 months. The disability must be continuous and prevent you from working.

Alcohol and drug addiction are very serious problems, but they are not considered to be a disability for the purpose of Social Security disability benefits.

You must apply for benefits. To get an application, go to your local Social Security office or Social Security Online.

Benefits are paid monthly by check or automatic deposit to your bank account.

As long as many more people are paying into the system than taking benefits, the system will be sound. Currently there is great concern for the future of Social Security benefits.

Raising taxes or lowering payments would be, in theory, a likely fix. Neither of these two solutions is popular.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935.

He proposed allowing individuals to contribute up to 4 percent of their Social Security payments to a private account. This private account would be invested in the stock market.

If caught you face a $25,000 fine and up to five years in prison.