SS Dept. has 400+ billion in a fund where SSN's don't match names.

[Gin]

Heard it on the news that Identity theft of SS numbers is being used by illegals to get jobs....they pay into the program...but the names and numbers don't match. So...the money is in a special fund.

This whole scenario doesn't make sense...it would be a simple matter to check which one is wrong. Plus, SS has a record of all jobs a person is working or has worked. The name should be easy to track which one was the first to have the number also.

[yankeedem]

1. Ironic that illegal aliens

Are actually guaranteeing the solvency of SS- by paying benefits that they can never collect.

Though the majority of illegals, I would guess, are paid under the table. Wouldn't be Republican of employers to actually pay payroll taxes on their employees, would it?

[NMDemDist2]

3. this is the fund Fox and Bushco were talking about in '02

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 19, 2002; Page A01

Pushed by the Mexican government, the Bush administration is working on a Social Security accord that would put tens of thousands of Mexicans onto the Social Security roster and send hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits south of the border.

White House and Mexican government officials say discussions on an agreement to align the Social Security systems of the two countries are informal and preliminary. But excerpts from an internal Social Security Administration memo obtained this month say the agreement "is expected to move forward at an accelerated pace," with the support of both governments, and could be in force by next October.


The pact would be the latest, but by far the largest, of a series of treaties designed to ensure that people from one country working in another aren't taxed by both nations' social security systems. In its first year, the agreement is projected to trigger 37,000 new claims from Mexicans who worked in the United States legally and paid Social Security taxes but have been unable to claim their checks, according to a memo prepared by Ted Girdner, the Social Security Administration's assistant associate commissioner for international operations.

Extrapolating from U.S. and Mexican government statistics, the accord could cost $720 million a year within five years of implementation. One independent estimate put the total at $1 billion a year -- a large sum, but a trifle compared with the $372 billion in Social Security benefits currently being paid to 46.4 million recipients.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A9342-2002Dec18

[seventythree]

6. thanks for the link

this speaks of Mexicans who worked in the US legally -- non matching SS numbers would indicate illegal activity -- that's a lot of quarters to amass for a Mexican to have been here legally without going for citizenship. Makes me scratch my head. I sort of think that SS should be for citizens -- legal workers can become citizens by the time they have 40 quarters -- I'd need to know why they don't/didn't.

[LizW]

2. I don't know

My SS # and name didn't match for about ten years after I got married. (Yes, I'm a procrastinator.) But my Social Security account is all in order, according to those statements they send out.

I got a nagging reminder from the IRS every year, saying, "Your name and SS # don't match, please fix this immediately." But other than that, it never seemed like a problem.

[Liberty Belle]

4. Yes, this happened once to me.

Years ago, I filed for unemployment and learned that someone was using my Social Security number to pay into the SS system.

[utahgirl]

5. Employers are supposed to I9

everyone now. You have to be hired under the name on your SS card, at least where I work. It causes a lot of problems for procrastinators because then they have to cash checks in whatever name they're issued in.

utahgirl

[oldlady]

7. purchasing false documents

is easy on either side of the border. Most coming from Mexico get them before leaving (cost is about $500), but they can also be purchased underground in most major US cities. (cost inside the US $50)