I started researching the topic of early retirement, and discovered something called the FIRE method. The FIRE method stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The premise is based on extreme savings and controlled spending.

An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is a tax-advantaged investment account that individuals can use to save and invest for retirement, meaning a savings account but better. Depending on the type—Traditional or Roth—an IRA allows you to either defer taxes on your contributions and pay them in retirement or pay taxes now and withdraw funds tax-free later. For a 21-year-old, the earlier you start contributing, the more time your investments must grow through compound interest, which can make a big difference by the time you retire.  

After doing some research, I learned that Social Security was established in 1935 and that it is designed to provide financial support to retirees, individuals with disabilities, and survivors of deceased workers.