And what kind of shady business would that be? This probably means you aren't paying into your own SS. Good luck with that when you get old and want or need to draw on it.
1. Working such that you don't pay into SS doesn't necessarily entail a "shady" enterprise, so your comment is a bit odd. As a random example, traders' (those who buy and sell instruments and hold them less for a year) profits don't count as 'earned income' and thus are not subject to SS taxes. In my case, I work for an overseas entity and thus an exempt from SS taxes.
2. I'm not paying into my own SS benefits, nor would I be even if I
were paying SS taxes: I'd be paying for current retirees' benefits. And a future generation will pay for my (probably reduced) benefits if I ever draw from the program.
3. Thanks for the good wishes. The fact is that I shouldn't need any SS benefits. The income is paltry (the average monthly benefit is a whopping (~)$1,200, and less than that for a disabled person).
Needing such income in old age represents a catastrophic failure to employ the very basics of personal finance.
My stepdad was self employed. He under claimed he income for decades, which lowered what he paid into SS. When the time came that he was not able to be as productive as he once had been and he applied for SS, I got a bit of a sad shock.
Well, sorry bro.
