A meme I see on FB fairly often is about how SS is "not an entitlement!!!", which is pretty much nonsense. This is from the SS web site:
"The Social Security benefit programs are “entitlement” programs. This means that workers, employers and the self-employed pay for the benefits with their Social Security taxes. The taxes that are collected are put into special trust funds. You qualify for these benefits based on your work history (or your spouse or parent). The amount of the benefit is based on these earnings."
I don't quite get the pejorative implications of the term "entitlement". I hope I'm entitled to SS.