This text provides readers with an understanding of the structure and impact of the Social Security program on clients and society. This text discusses the Social Security program's history, characteristics, finances, provisions, and future prospects. It describes the Social Security and Medicare programs' benefits, eligibility requirements, and application processes. It assesses the impact of the Social Security program on family structure and family life and on the poor in society; it also considers unequal treatment of women and the poor. The book provides a framework to assist readers in the analysis of the upcoming crisis in Social Security, as well as means of analyzing various proposed remedies. It summarizes some of the plans for resolving the crisis and assesses the policy implications of those plans, as well as suggesting political strategies for promoting fair and adequate solutions to the program's financial problems.