Most Americans have probably never heard of the 1960 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Flemming v. Nestor. It is one of several important facts about Social Security that are unknown to the public. The essence of the ruling is that nobody has an “earned right” to Social Security benefits, no matter how much money they have paid into the program.
The court upheld the denial of benefits to Nestor even though he had contributed to the program for 19 years and was receiving benefits. In it’s ruling, the Court established the principle that entitlement to Social Security benefits is not a “contractual right.” This Court ruling was specific and without conditions. It made it legal for the government to deny benefits to people, no matter how much money they had contributed to the program.
The government has a moral obligation to repay the Social Security money, but it does not have a legal obligation to repay any of the $2.8 trillion that it owes to the trust fund. If the government chooses to cut Social Security benefits, or even to terminate the entire program, the American people have no legal recourse. Section 1104 of the Social Security Act specifically states, “The right to alter, amend, or repeal any provision of this Act is hereby reserved to the Congress.” This means that the future of Social Security is totally in the hands of Congress and the President. If the President and Congress should choose to cut benefits, or eliminate the whole Social Security program, they could do so, and there is nothing the public could do about it, except to vote to remove the politicians from office at the next election.