Dunno - but obviously they have enough to give an almost 2 trillion tax cut to the top 0.6%.

Again what does this have to do with social security?

Hoooooooray!

With this added monthly windfall, we’ll probably treat ourselves to a Mickey D lunch.

Oh wait. With the increased inflation coming, that’s out.

Perhaps we’ll stop at the local soup kitchen.

Oh wait. We’ll need to drive and that’s more for gas.

Crap, we’ll just make PB&J.

Oh wait. PB prices are skyrocketing.

Back to Square One. Not the local restaurant, back to crackers and water. crap.

I would have loved to have the option 55 years ago to either pay the government 12% now to pay me social security 50 years in the future, or allow me to fund my own social security, I would do it myself. I cashed in 2 big pensions so I could manage my own retirement funds and I did much better than if I would have stayed with the pensions.
The government has always used other pots of money to spend in other areas, or the talk on giving illegals social security. You don’t think that will drain the fund?
All of congress has been dropping the ball on social security so we will be running out of money in 10 years unless congress makes big changes which won’t be good for the workers.
Nobody wants to work these days and we need each working person to pay more into social security to fund our payroll, that’s how it works, there is no pot of money that is designated specifically for you, the current working class pay for our social security.

I think the ~7 years figure is the time taken to recoup the money not taken at 62, but starting at full retirement age.

The question about contributions over a lifetime of earnings I have never considered - thinking the answer is probably too mind bogglingly depressing to think about.

If you filled up a bucket with the amount of water representing our annual budget and then poured it out, the water left clinging to the walls would probably represent more money than we give to other countries.

SS Cola
 

Real inflation is around 10%, we are still going backwards. Government must stop wasting money on foreign affairs.

And, 40 percent of that water would need to be borrowed because we use more water than we have.

Plus 8.7% last year. Thank you to the Social Security Administration for helping us keep up with inflation without our needing to go on strike.

You can get a statement from the SS website that shows what you and your employer contributed over time. For me, the numbers are about equal. I will recover what I contributed in five years and the combined total in ten years.

No, that doesn't account for gains or losses if the money was invested. It also doesn't account for any amount that would not have been invested for any number of reasons. However, since I hope to collect for 30 years or so, receiving 300% (or 600% depending on how you want to view it) of what I contributed seems like a decent deal.

Don't forget the fact that there are increases most years. Might not be much but if you get the maximum monthly check of $4555, and it goes up 3% next year, you'll be getting $4692/month next year. And if it goes up another 3% in 2025, then you'll be getting $4832/month in 2025. And so on.

Meanwhile, you'll be getting this (plus whatever other increases) every year for 7 years - and on the 8th year, you will now be getting money that you never paid in. How is that possible? Because the generations behind you are footing the bill. Your payroll deductions are paying for the generations in front of you, they're not paying for you. If you live for 25 years past your first SS check, you'll have collected more than 250% of what you put in.

The problem with the system is that there are SO many baby boomers receiving checks now, and the generation who's paying for it - are fewer in number. So there's not enough coming in to support the people receiving. So they rely on the next generation behind them, and so on and so forth. Once the Boomers die out, they'll be back on solid ground. They just have to make it through this generation.

Why is it entitlement money? Didn’t we and the company we worked for pay into it our entire working career?

If you are healthy and had a good job then you paid into it maybe 1/6 of what you will take out. If you were unhealthy or maybe had a lower paying job then you might get more than out. And yes, if you are unfortunate and pass early then you won't get your money back but your widow or kids might.

Money has time value; interest and dividends can be earned; purchased assets such as stocks and real estate can appreciate. Plus due to inflation the dollar of 1960 or any other past year was worth more, even far more, in purchasing power than today's dollar. Social Security is lose-lose except for the disability and survivor insurance components. Most of us would be millionaires, even multimillionaires, if what was confiscated from us for FICA over our working years had been invested in a S&P 500 index fund.

While you poor impoverished Villages are busy whining about your getting back every nickel you paid in to Soc Sec over the years, please be sure to calculate the cost of the disability insurance you have gotten for free for your entire working life. And the cost of the insurance for several disorders and illnesses provided to your children for their lives, and the value of the ability for your spouse to collect on your earnings not only during your life but after your death.

While whining about the amount you paid for Medicare. When you paid in there were no immunotherapy drugs, there were no MRI scans or heart transplants or surviving cancer other than briefly. There was no drug benefit, there was no stem cell treatment, there was almost no joint replacement.

And you paid at a rate based on the cost of medicine at the time, not what it costs now

So quit whining and be very grateful that Medicare was passed by LBJ, was improved by subsequent administrations.