Social Security/ Medicare Tax

What is the name of your state? OR

I'm a foreign national who has been living and working in Oregon since 1998. During my stay here, I paid a significant amount of Social Security taxes. Since I'm gearing up to leave the US for good in July, I've been looking into my eligibility for Social Security Benefits once I reach retirement age. Turns out, that you have to pay in for at least 10 years to receive any payments once your retired. Also, there doesn't seem to be a way to get a refund of any payments made to the system no matter what. This does not only apply to foreigners, but also to US citizens that have not accumulated 10 years of Social Security payments until they reach retirement age. This seems extremely unjust to me. My question now is: What law is this based on. Has anybody ever tried to contest this law in court? If so, what was the ruling. Also, if nobody tried to contest it so far, is there anybody out there who, besides me, thinks that a law suit against the US concerning this law could stand a chance in court. Just from my gut feeling it seems extremely unjust that US citizens and foreigners that have paid into SS and MC for years, but not long enough to reach the 10 yr requirement, are simply out of their hard earned money.
any thoughts??

Don't bother challenging the law. You'll lose.

DO let us know your citizenship/residence. If you are a citizen of or live in a country that has a totalization agreement with the US, you may be eligible for SS benefits or increased benefits from your country's SS system. For example, Canadians who work in the US for 1.5 years get increased CPP benefits and are eligible for (reduced) SS benefits.

You can find the various totalization agreements here: http://www.ssa.gov/international/

I'm from Germany, but I'll actually be moving and working in Switzerland starting this August.

What's your reason for thinking that a challenge to that law would not be succesful? I'm no lawyer, but I think this law is not just and not accounting for the different amounts of contributions to SS by different individuals. For example, if you have a moderately high income of $ 100,000 a year and you pay SS taxes on that amount for 5 yrs, you have contributed the same amount to SS than a person with an income of 20,000 who pays for 25 yrs. However, you won't see a penny in benefits. I know that this is not a calculation that goes over well, because you're just screwing the guy who makes a lot more anyways, but nevertheless, it's unjust and actually discriminates against higher income individuals.

It doesn't discriminate against higher income earners because they receive higher benefits at retirement. Also, you'll probably get US SS benefits when you retire, since the US has totalization agreements with both Germany & Switzerland. Your German or Swiss work credits can be used to meet your 10 year work requirement for US social security eligibility.

Thanks a lot, I'll have to look into this. I was extremely outraged about this yesterday, but a nights sleep can do wonders. Doesn't sound so bad after all.