That isn't the whole picture, either. After a certain age you can collect Social Security whether or not you need it -- a healthy, able-bodied person of retirem

That isn't the whole picture, either. After a certain age you can collect Social Security whether or not you need it -- a healthy, able-bodied person of retirement age can collect. In your terminology, it's disability & old-age insurance. Only it's guaranteed that anyone still living will qualify to collect, unlike traditional insurance. I think the most unique thing about SS (that almost nobody understands) is that current payouts are funded by current contributions -- there's no "pot" or "account" you pay into per se, not like a 401k for instance. Instead you earn points by paying in over time, and the points map to an amount you're guaranteed which is in turn paid for by future taxpayers.