#1 Big downside: not everyone can access it

One downside of the way in which the current Social Security system is working is that people must earn credits in order to be able to qualify for the benefits in the first place. To be able to access the benefits and be entitled to receive them, you need to earn a minimum of 40 credits during the time you were employed. If you think this is a disadvantage to you, the solution the Social Security Administration suggests is to keep on working more so that you can get the credits you need to qualify.

For example, under the 2018 rules, you could earn the maximum number of credits per year (which is 4) only if you earned at least $5,280 over the course of the year. By their rules, you would need to have worked at that wage for 10 years in order to qualify. Adding to the fact that the rules and thresholds are changing, the number of years you have to work may be different.