Page Title:
Illegal Immigrants Are Bolstering Social Security With Billions - The New York Times

Page Description:
About seven million illegal immigrant workers in United States are providing Social Security system with subsidy of as much as $7 billion a year through payroll taxes withheld from their wages, but they will not be eligible for public pensions in retirement; their contributions to Social Security add up to 10 percent of last year's surplus; money paid by illegal workers and their employers is factored into all Social Security Administration's projections; many illegal workers buy fake ID packages that include Social Security card; that provides cover for their employers, who could be fined for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants under law passed in 1986; Social Security Administration receives flood of W-2 earnings reports with incorrect--sometimes fictitious--Social Security numbers; it stashes them in 'earnings suspense file' that has been mushrooming, now totaling $189 billion; Social Security officials suspect that large portion of suspense file corresponds to earnings of illegal immigrants; illegal immigrants see Social Security withholding taxes as price of working in US; retirement does not enter picture for them; photos; graph (M)

This Page is About: