He says he pays taxes
He says he pays taxes but is not eligible for Social Security. I don't know how it works there, but a person in the U.S. working informally could, if they chose to, pay their own Social Security when they filed their income tax. A W2 or 1099 is not required to report income. Most people who have informal income do not want to report it or pay taxes on it, but if it means having Social Security and Medicare benefits some day, and they're not investing for retirement otherwise, they would be wise to report it for the sake of their old age.
Can a person in Mexico who has only informal income report and pay taxes on that income, and pay into Social Security?
