Social Security key part of S.C. life

Social Security plays a role in the economic life of nearly every South Carolina resident.

For one in six state residents, the agency delivers a monthly check that averages $800.

For nearly half the state’s 4 million residents — everyone who holds a job — the agency takes a cut of your pay with a promise it will be there when needed.

The agency is the biggest federal spender in South Carolina. It paid $6.9 billion to state residents during fiscal 2002 — 26 cents of every federal dollar spent in South Carolina that year. By comparison, defense spending was 14 cents of every federal dollar spent in the state.

The Social Security Administration runs three major programs, which pay benefits to:

• Retired workers and their dependents. This is the biggest program, with more than 470,000 S.C. residents receiving benefits each month.

• Workers forced off the job early because of a disability. Their dependents also can benefit. Nearly 150,000 S.C. residents are part of this program.

• Survivors of workers who die before they reach retirement age. Nearly 110,000 state residents are in this program.

A key concern about Social Security is whether it will be able to support the baby boom generation, set to retire in the next few decades.

More retirees will tap into the program and live longer lives, and fewer people are in the work force to pay Social Security taxes.

Consider South Carolina in 2001: Workers in the state paid about $6.5 billion in Social Security taxes. That same year, the agency’s three programs paid $6.7 billion to South Carolina recipients.