We ask this question because we want to be faithful to God. We are to obey God based on the understanding that we have. Two important texts in Leviticus and Deuteronomy describe the principle of tithing. “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30). “‘You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year’” (Deuteronomy 14:22).
A lot has changed since the times of ancient Israel when the increase that sustained each family was literally the “seed of the land,” “the fruit of the tree,” and “your grain that the field produces.” They didn’t have regular paychecks, retirement accounts, mandated social security withholdings, stock market investments, insurance for crop failure, or federal finance programs. But the principles that undergird God’s Law of tithing remain the same. What are those principles? The people of Israel returned to God a tithe of the produce from working the land that God had given to each family as an inheritance. We return to God a tithe of what we produce or earn by using the gifts He gives us. In other words, God gives us strength and skill to labor and earn an income. Ten percent of what we earn through our labor belongs to God?
So, do social security disbursements that supply the needs of retired workers fit into this category? Is social security an income from our labor? This is a great question, for which there isn’t a straightforward answer straight from a Bible text. There are at least two ways to look at social security, and we will address each viewpoint.
The first way to look at social security is that it is a financial investment similar to a private retirement account or a 401(k). With a retirement account, you contribute to a fund that you own, and based on interest rates or market conditions it grows through the years so that its final value exceeds what you contributed. The amount that exceeds what you contributed is your increase. Everything in the account belongs to you. You can use it all until it is gone. When the money’s gone, you receive nothing more–even if you live another 20 years. If you were to die before the account is used up, then the money would be given to your designated beneficiaries because it is your money and must go to the people you choose for it to go to.
Social security is similar to a retirement account in some ways, but it is also significantly different. You contribute regularly to social security through your working years, and the potential value of what you might receive as a result of your contributions grows. But Social security is different from a retirement account because there is not a definite amount of money in an account that belongs to you the way your retirement account does. Even though you made mandated contributions to social security, there is not a growing fund with your name on it that is safeguarded for your later use. When you begin receiving social security disbursements, you will continue to receive a fixed amount for the rest of your life, whether you die in 4 weeks or 44 years. If you live 4 weeks, there will not be a remaining unused balance that will then be given to a designated beneficiary. And if you live 44 years, the disbursements will not stop when you reach the level of what you had contributed. (The government does dictate certain circumstances where a surviving family member could receive your disbursements—such as with a disabled child or a spouse).
If God leads you to see social security as an investment account, the Biblical principle of returning tithe on new money that comes into your hands would work like this. Over your working years, you will contribute a specific amount to social security, based on government calculations. Then, after you begin to receive social security benefits, you will usually receive a fixed amount as a monthly disbursement until you die. Assuming you returned tithe on your gross income, then you would have already returned tithe on the money you are now receiving back from the government. If you die BEFORE your total disbursements equal what you contributed, then you returned tithe on money that the government withheld but never gave you.
On the other hand, if you live BEYOND the time when your disbursements equal what you contributed, then from that point on, each monthly disbursement would be an increase that you would return tithe on. Most people don’t keep track of the specific amount they have contributed to social security through their working years. As a result, they don’t have the information necessary to make those calculations and pinpoint the age at which their social security benefit is an increase beyond what they contributed. Those who calculate such things, indicate that if you begin receiving disbursements at age 65, the average age where you begin receiving money beyond what you contributed is around 71.
The second way people look at social security is that it is not an investment in a growing retirement account. Instead, it is more like a payment that you make during your working years for a government service you will receive in the future when you are no longer working. You pay for this service in advance through mandatory withholdings from your income. The service you have purchased from the government is the promise that, after you stop working, the government’s social security department will cover your basic living expenses until you die. The government service covers only the very basics and does not provide a margin for anything extra. For most people, unless they are coupled with other investments, the social security disbursements are not equivalent to a working income that meets basic needs. Rather than simulating an income, which you can increase by working harder or longer hours, by pursuing further education, or by changing jobs, the disbursements from the government are more like a stipend to cover basic necessities.
The government stipend is not the fruit of current labor, but finally receiving the service paid for during former years of work. When a certain age has been reached, the government declares that you have paid in full for this service. Then you can begin to receive the financial support that you paid for in advance. You may receive this government service for decades or for only a few short weeks. You don’t get charged extra for using the government’s service for decades, nor do you get reimbursed if you only use the government’s service for a few weeks. Regardless of how long you receive social security disbursements, the amount you receive is the product you purchased in advance.
From this view of social security, the disbursements are the community resources for caring for those who retire. It would be similar to paying in advance for a retirement housing facility. When you finally move in, use of the facility is not an income, but a product you purchased. This model fits with the Biblical principle given to Israel that they should care for their older generations (Exodus 20:12, Matthew 15:4-6, 1 Timothy 5:3-4,8). Supporting the basic needs of Israel’s older generations was not an income to them, but simply the way of caring for those who were no longer able to work as they had when they were younger.
If that is how God leads you to view social security, then the disbursements are not an income on which you would return tithe. Instead, they are a product that you have purchased at a fixed price from the government in advance.
A third standard you could use when looking at social security is to see it the way the government sees it since it is a government program administered according to complex calculations. According to the government, most social security disbursements are not considered taxable income (see “Understanding the Benefits” pg.10, https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10024.pdf). Under certain circumstances, the government does view some or all of a person’s social security disbursement as taxable income. If the government considers your social security disbursement to be taxable income, then it would also be an increase on which you would return tithe.
Due to the complicated nature of social security and other government services, there are issues relating to this topic that this article does not address. Each family’s situation is unique, and responding to each scenario requires specific personal information.
What is the conclusion? Talk with God about it. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). It’s all His money, and He will teach you your responsibility based on the principles in His Word. While some return a tithe on social security disbursements, many people ask God to help them decide how to give consistent offerings that appropriately match their budgeted needs and God’s goodness to them.