A much smaller amount is paid to the survivors of workers who died before they retired and to disabled people.

The others are children, disabled workers and nonelderly survivors of workers who have died.

For example, among children who receive Social Security benefits as survivors of workers, nearly a quarter are black, about double the black percentage in the population.

The rest went to disabled workers and their dependents (17 percent) and the survivors of workers who died before retirement age (14 percent).

Your tax money is used to pay benefits to people who have already retired or who are disabled, survivors of workers who have died and dependents of beneficiaries.

But the existing Social Security system does cover many survivors of workers who die before they retire, and it pays monthly checks to workers who become disabled and their families.

Of the 44.3 million people who receive Social Security, 27.3 million are retirees, 3.4 million are dependents of retired workers and 7.4 million are survivors of workers who have died.

The CPP also provides disability pensions to eligible workers who become disabled in a severe and prolonged fashion, and survivor benefits to survivors of workers who die before they begin receiving retirement benefits.

Social Security accounts for nearly a quarter of the Federal budget of more than $1 trillion and distributes nearly $250 billion a year to 38 million elderly Americans as well as to survivors of workers and those who have been disabled.

The financial safety net that the government promises the elderly, the disabled and the survivors of workers would be transformed over time from a program that uses tax money to pay guaranteed monthly benefits to one that allows workers to put part of their taxes into private investments.