1. Provide retirement benefits for all Americans...currently totaling 28 million people.
2. Provide Disability benefits...currently totaling 5 million disabled workers.
3. Provide Family benefits to what amounts to 3 million spouses, and 2 million children of retired or disabled workers.
4. And Survivor Benefits...which current amounts to 7 million survivors of deceased workers. 2 million of those are children.
Social Security has problems ahead. Current projections have 2016 as the first year the paid benefits will exceed the tax revenue for Social Security. However, interest on the trust fund can still be used to pay out benefits until 2025. In 2025 Social Security will have to start paying all benefits from the social security trust fund. In 2038 the trust fund will become insufficient, and will not be able to cover 73% if all social security benefits.
So how can social security be saved? According to the Social Security Advisory Board if we made all earnings subject to tax and retained the cap for benefit calculations 100% of the Social Security Deficit would be resolved. We would have saved social security for at least the next 75 years.
Currently all people making 87,000 per year pay the highest percent of their wages to social security. A person making 87,000 per year pays 6.2% of that to social security. A person making 870,000 per year only pays .62% of his salary to social security. This is because only the first 87,000 dollars of a person's salary is taxed. Eliminating the Cap while retaining the cap for benefits will put an equal percentage accountability on those people who could most afford to pay for it.
This also will not take away from what social security is designed to do. The system will not be compromised. It will be saved.