Survivors Old-Age and Disability Insurance

The federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) system was developed pursuant to the federal Social Security Act of 1935 (42 U.S.C.A. § 301 et seq. [1935]) to provide government benefits to eligible retirees, disabled individuals, and surviving spouses and their dependents.

OASDI benefits are monthly payments made to retired people, families whose wage earner has died, and workers who are unemployed because of sickness or accident. Workers qualify for such protection by having been employed for the mandatory minimum amount of time and by having made contributions to SOCIAL SECURITY. There is no financial need requirement. Once a worker qualifies for protection, his or her family is also entitled to protection. The OASDI program is geared toward helping families as a matter of social policy.

The OASDI program is funded by payroll taxes levied on employees, their employers, and the self-employed. The rate of the contributions is based upon the employee's taxable income, up to a maximum taxable amount, with the employer contributing an equal amount. The self-employed person contributes twice the amount levied on an employee. In 1996 a tax rate of 6.2 percent was levied on earned income up to a maximum of $62,887 to fund OASDI.