Taxes on benefits haven't been eliminated, and based on current projections, the program isn't going bankrupt. Understanding the truth about Social Security and knowing what you can control can help you better prepare for retirement.

In the beginning, the aims of Social Security were both noble and modest. “We have tried to frame a law,” said President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the signing of the Social Security Act, “which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.