THE check

So I retired.
Last week I received what I believe, is the first check ever issued to me by the Federal Government. This is a big deal to me. I don't think I ever got a rebate check because my income was too high. I applied for Social Security several months ago and last week was my initial payment.
Oh, I wanted to photocopy it and frame it and just hold it for a while. Well, of course, that didn't happen because they just dumped it into my bank account.
So now I am a "pensioner". I am "on the dole". I am on "public assistance".
FICA! I watched that part of my deductions get larger and larger with every paycheck report. Would I ever get it back? It seemed like it would never come back to me. All the worries we had about SS! Would it be there for me? I am unusually optimistic about such things. Now they say it will be there until sometime in the 2030s. I hope so.
It's an incredibly small amount, of course. Added to my pension, it's somewhat over half my old salary.
And I still must pay tax on part of it. What's with that?