Because the military doesn't have any assets to speak of. It's a government program funded each year by taxes. The social security program is separate from the

Because the military doesn't have any assets to speak of. It's a government program funded each year by taxes. The social security program is separate from the federal budget [0], and that's why you see it as a separate tax on your paycheck (if you're American). Every dollar you pay into it, goes into a trust fund, whose sole asset is US Government bonds. Social security can go bankrupt if the US defaults on it's debt, which although almost unthinkable (see Russia as a recent example of paying bonds despite being under heavy sanctions, and having to pay them in another currency) comes up every few years [1]. [0] https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-miller-socialsecurity/social-security-and-the-u-s-deficit-separating-fact-from-fiction-idUSKCN1N64GR https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-miller-socialsecur... [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/16/biden-signs-debt-ceiling-increase-preventing-first-ever-us-default.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/16/biden-signs-debt-ceiling-inc...