Elderly immigrants who get legal status (usually a Green Card) are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid.
SSI is administered by Social Security, but it is paid out from general funds, not from the Social Security Trust Fund.
In other words, SSI is cash welfare for elderly or disabled people who do not have enough work credits to qualify for Social Security or SS Disability benefits.
Here in Washington state, the SSI maximum is $733 per month plus $40 more from the state. I don't know how the max-min SSI payment is calculated, actually.
Also, elderly (65+) legal immigrants who have never worked in the USA don't qualify for Medicare, so they automatically qualify for Medicaid, which, in a lot of cases, is much more costly than their SSI checks.
You are 100% correct, and I was just trying to keep it simple. Even the regular social security payments are now raiding general funds, from what I hear. My main point is, the LEGAL immigrants we are admitting are a drag on tax payers and the economy, and not a benefit.
And again, I know personally one individual who arrived at age 70, lived to be 95 and collected SSI & medicaid for all those years except first 3 years.
The real sad part is most Americans are oblivious to these details.