Really? You want to argue semantics? Ok, fine, I said "special T-Bills" and you said "special-issue Treasury securities". Otherwise you repeated everything I said.
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Originally Posted by SoCalGal
The U.S. Treasury doesn't issue T-Bills (Treasury bills) to the Social Security Administration (SSA). Instead, it issues special-issue Treasury securities, which are not marketable (they can't be sold on the open market). These are special bonds, not typical T-Bills (which are short-term securities typically maturing in a year or less). These special securities earn interest and represent the Social Security Trust Fund surplus. Once issued, the government can't redeem them early (i.e., can't “call” them before maturity, like callable corporate bonds). While they're not callable by the Treasury, the SSA can redeem them on demand to pay Social Security benefits. Think of it like an intragovernmental IOU: the Trust Fund has the right to cash in the bonds whenever it needs to — and the Treasury must come up with the money (via taxes or borrowing). Social Security’s holdings are a special case, and that’s why they can be “cashed in” before maturity to cover benefit payments.
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