I thought I read at some point that several decades in the past there was a period when you could opt out of Social Security and put retirement in one's own hands.

I always wanted to look up that history for when that forked path was allowed and when it was eliminated and why. The author of the piece I read mentioned how he earned much better returns with the money he otherwise would have had he put it into social security and was thankful he took the more "risky" route.