--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many seniors understand that Social…" description: "\"Many seniors understand that Social Security is social insurance as opposed to a program where we put money aside for our own retirement. But most elde..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/richard-lamm-10220_elderly_many-seniors-understand-that-social-secu_877301.jpg" --- # Many seniors understand that Social Security is social… ![“Many seniors understand that Social Security is social insurance as opposed to a program where we put money aside for our own retirement. But most elderly individuals think they're getting their money back. So it isn't selfishness as much as a misunderstanding.” quote by Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/richard-lamm-10220_elderly_many-seniors-understand-that-social-secu_877301.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/richard-lamm-10220_elderly_many-seniors-understand-that-social-secu_877301.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/richard-lamm-10220_elderly_many-seniors-understand-that-social-secu_877301.jpg) > “Many seniors understand that Social Security is social insurance as opposed to a program where we put money aside for our own retirement. But most elderly individuals think they're getting their money back. So it isn't selfishness as much as a misunderstanding.” [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many seniors mistakenly view Social Security as a personal savings plan rather than a collective insurance system. **In simple terms:** People confuse insurance with personal savings. Key Takeaway Educate seniors on insurance nature. Themes misunderstanding finance aging Mood informative concerned Type educational explanatory When to use this quote - retirement planning - financial counseling - policy advocacy Key Concepts social insurance public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can we clarify public programs? - What misconceptions persist about retirement? A Different Perspective Complex systems are hard to explain simply. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Isn Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isn-selfishness-1015838/) [Misunderstanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misunderstanding/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Program](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/program/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Retirement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retirement/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) [Selfishness Misunderstanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness-misunderstanding-1015836/) [Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senior/) [Seniors Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seniors-understand-1015837/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social Insurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-insurance-1015839/) [Social security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-security/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Caring for our own hearts isn't selfishness; it's how we begin to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/caring-for-our-own-hearts-isn-t-selfishness-it-s-how-we-begin-to-love/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [However, the Medicare prescription drug benefit has changed, and if the nearly 3,000 seniors I have met through 12 town halls can represent a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-fitzpatrick/however-the-medicare-prescription-drug-benefit-has-changed-and-if-the/) [Mike Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-fitzpatrick/) > [We must work to stabilize Social Security. We must not gamble with our nation's social insurance program, one of our most popular and effective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-napolitano/we-must-work-to-stabilize-social-security-we-must-not-gamble-with-our/) [Grace Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-napolitano/) > [I would like to see the Iraqi government guarantee social insurance for the Yazidi women who were enslaved and to recognise their status as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanar-mohammed/i-would-like-to-see-the-iraqi-government-guarantee-social-insurance/) [Yanar Mohammed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanar-mohammed/) > [Social Security is a social insurance program - it is not designed to be the same thing as a 401(k).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/social-security-is-a-social-insurance-program-it-is-not-designed-to/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [There's another important reason not to send the Dreamers packing: they are essential to preserving the social insurance programs on which older Americans rely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raja-krishnamoorthi/there-s-another-important-reason-not-to-send-the-dreamers-packing/) [Raja Krishnamoorthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raja-krishnamoorthi/) > [“Importantly, the demand for day-care services to be provided by social insurance came from textile workers and not from the Mexican feminist movement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-l-dion/importantly-the-demand-for-day-care-services-to-be-provided-by-social/) [Michelle L. Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-l-dion/) > [The national framework of social insurance - social security, unemployment and disability benefits, work programs, and workers' compensation - protected citizens from the kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/the-national-framework-of-social-insurance-social-security/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [Social Security is not a retirement savings plan; it is a social insurance program. It's a contract that says, as a society, we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bingaman/social-security-is-not-a-retirement-savings-plan-it-is-a-social/) [Jeff Bingaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bingaman/) > [“The entry of government into social insurance and then into a broader range of social interventions has caused incalculable human suffering. It has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/the-entry-of-government-into-social-insurance-and-then-into-a-broader/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [The best social insurance is to make more progress, not to make more work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-caplan/the-best-social-insurance-is-to-make-more-progress-not-to-make-more/) [Bryan Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-caplan/) > [Organisation of social insurance should be treated as one part only of a comprehensive policy of social progress. Social insurance fully developed may provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beveridge/organisation-of-social-insurance-should-be-treated-as-one-part-only/) [William Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beveridge/) > [“Braith opened her eyes and screamed at what hovered above her, “Gods! Death comes for me!” The horrifying face of death curled its lip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/braith-opened-her-eyes-and-screamed-at-what-hovered-above-her-gods/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [The elderly have so much to offer. They're our link with history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/the-elderly-have-so-much-to-offer-they-re-our-link-with-history/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) ## More by Richard Lamm > ['Diversity' is a wonderfully seductive word. It stresses differences rather than commonalities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/diversity-is-a-wonderfully-seductive-word-it-stresses-differences/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [History shows, in my opinion, that no nation can survive the tension, conflict and antagonism of two competing languages and cultures. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/history-shows-in-my-opinion-that-no-nation-can-survive-the-tension/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [Sprawl is the American ideal way to develop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/sprawl-is-the-american-ideal-way-to-develop/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [I have no permanent enemies - only people I have yet to persuade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/i-have-no-permanent-enemies-only-people-i-have-yet-to-persuade/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [I believe we all must face the fact of death. It is both gift and curse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/i-believe-we-all-must-face-the-fact-of-death-it-is-both-gift-and-curse/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [All we know about the new economic world is that nations which train engineers will prevail over those which train lawyers. No nation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/all-we-know-about-the-new-economic-world-is-that-nations-which-train/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [Sprawl is the American ideal way to develop. I believe that what we're developing in Denver is in no appreciable way different than what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/sprawl-is-the-american-ideal-way-to-develop-i-believe-that-what-we-re/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [I've had some major disappointments. The quality of life in Denver is worse than when I took over, and I'm embarrassed about that. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/i-ve-had-some-major-disappointments-the-quality-of-life-in-denver-is/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [We can make the United States a 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/we-can-make-the-united-states-a-hispanic-quebec-without-much-effort/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [It was almost a desecration to put a building on the Boulder Turnpike, which is now U.S.-36 and is almost backyards and even junkyards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/it-was-almost-a-desecration-to-put-a-building-on-the-boulder-turnpike/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [America has to ask itself not what it wants, but what it can afford... The New Deal, in my mind, has become a raw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/america-has-to-ask-itself-not-what-it-wants-but-what-it-can-afford/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [I believe for some high-technology medicine, like transplants and kidney dialysis, age should be a consideration in the delivery of that technology. In a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/i-believe-for-some-high-technology-medicine-like-transplants-and/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [God is not an American. Nature did not design Americans to be prosperous forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/god-is-not-an-american-nature-did-not-design-americans-to-be/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [A truly moral health care system should start out by covering all of its citizens with basic health care. It would not be seduced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/a-truly-moral-health-care-system-should-start-out-by-covering-all-of/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [Amnesty is a big billboard, a flashing billboard, to the rest of the world that we don't really mean our immigration law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/amnesty-is-a-big-billboard-a-flashing-billboard-to-the-rest-of-the/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) [Explore all 67 Richard Lamm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) ## More Elderly quotes > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [The elderly have so much to offer. They're our link with history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/the-elderly-have-so-much-to-offer-they-re-our-link-with-history/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [The investment in our mining industry has been very positive for Australia but we need to be doing more if we want, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-rinehart/the-investment-in-our-mining-industry-has-been-very-positive-for/) [Gina Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-rinehart/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [At this point two elderly security guards in parkas, the guys who normally work the front desk at the plant, asked John to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/at-this-point-two-elderly-security-guards-in-parkas-the-guys-who/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [“The young man pities his elders, fearing the day he, too, will join their ranks. The elderly man pities the younger generation, well-knowing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-i-fisher/the-young-man-pities-his-elders-fearing-the-day-he-too-will-join/) [Lynda I Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-i-fisher/) > [When facing a child, I become a child. When facing an elderly person, or a husband, or a wife, in my heart, I too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masahisa-goi/when-facing-a-child-i-become-a-child-when-facing-an-elderly-person-or/) [Masahisa Goi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masahisa-goi/) > [“You will not apply for membership, but the tribe of the elderly will claim you. Your present will not keep pace with the world’s.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/you-will-not-apply-for-membership-but-the-tribe-of-the-elderly-will/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [All Kings, and all their favorites, All glory of honors, beauties, wits, The sun itself, which makes times, as they pass, Is elder by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/all-kings-and-all-their-favorites-all-glory-of-honors-beauties-wits/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [“We must learn as long as we live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-must-learn-as-long-as-we-live/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A long time ago, in a town with which I used to be familiarly acquainted, there dwelt an elderly person of grim aspect, known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/a-long-time-ago-in-a-town-with-which-i-used-to-be-familiarly/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Malnutrition is a plague in the elderly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/malnutrition-is-a-plague-in-the-elderly/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Obamacare is going to destroy the elderly by denying care, by even perhaps denying treatment to people who are in catastrophic circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-cruz/obamacare-is-going-to-destroy-the-elderly-by-denying-care-by-even/) [Rafael Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-cruz/) > [Walking abroad, one is the admiration of all little boys, and meets an approving glance from every eye of elderly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-owen/walking-abroad-one-is-the-admiration-of-all-little-boys-and-meets-an/) [Wilfred Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-owen/) > [Our population is growing rapidly because of our good health policy. When I came into office, there were 14 million Ugandans, today there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoweri-museveni/our-population-is-growing-rapidly-because-of-our-good-health-policy/) [Yoweri Museveni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoweri-museveni/) [Browse all 446 Elderly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elderly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many seniors understand that Social Security is social insurance as opposed to a program where we put money aside for our own retirement. But most elderly individuals think they're getting their money back. 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