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Without a doubt the public is often justifiably confused about the convoluted workings of federal benefit programs. But the one thing we are all aware of is the amount of money we pay into Social Security, which includes taxes for both retirement AND disability insurance benefits. Social Security disability benefits are earned - same as retirement benefits. Of the 12.4% payroll tax paid by workers and employers, the retirement trust fund gets 10.6% and the disability insurance trust fund gets 1.8% of the revenues collected..Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in El Paso, Texas, May 10, 201"Senate Democrats Reintroduce Dream Act," Jennifer Steinhauer, The New York Times, May 11, 201"Green Card for a Family Member of a U.S. Citizen," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as of May 11, 2011..According to the Federal Register "Amounts collected under section 1411 are not designated for the Medicare Trust Fund." The Joint Committee on Taxation in 2011 stated that's because "No provision is made for the transfer of the tax imposed by this provision from the General Fund of the United States Treasury to any Trust Fund.".Phasing in an increase in the payroll tax rate for workers and employers from 6.2% to 7.4% each over a period of twenty years. The gradual growth would mean an extra 50 cents in taxes per week each year for the average worker..The big difference between the CPI-W used to calculate your COLA, and the CPI-E, is the weight or portion of income that the Bureau of Labor Statistics gives to each category. While seniors occasionally benefit from the heavier weighting of transportation costs and food costs under the CPI-W when food and gasoline prices spike, in the majority of years they fall behind due to the lower weighting of medical care..Don't expect much growth in Social Security benefits next year. According to consumer price index data, Social Security and other adjusted benefit payments will probably stay pretty flat. With the Social Security Administration getting ready to announce the 2014 cost-of-living-adjustment on October 16th, the COLA looks like it will be in the vicinity of 1.7%. That would raise average monthly benefits of ,157 by just .70..TSCL believes stronger protections are needed and supports legislation that would prohibit using earnings from illegal work to determine Social Security benefits. What do you think? Take TSCL's 2015 Senior Survey now..Mulvaney explained that the goal of the proposed cut to SSDI is to "test new approaches to increase labor force participation," which suggests that large numbers of ineligible people are abusing the system and need to go back to work. While Social Security disability has well-publicized problems with fraud and abuse, it's important to note that eligibility standards for Social Security disability mean that a person must have a condition so severe that he or she is not able to work. Thus, someone who truly meets the eligibility standards for disability, is not likely to ever re-enter the workforce..Specifically, the WEP reduces the earned Social Security benefits of an individual paying into the system from one job while receiving a public pension from a job not covered by Social Security. Educators are just one example of folks especially hard hit when they take a summer job. The GPO significantly cuts by two-thirds the spousal benefits of federal, state and local employees in jobs not covered by Social Security such as police officers, firefighters, and educators.