Social Security question?

[brenton s]

If you are interested in economic returns of Social Security, you should look at the money's worth studies from the Social Security Administration. The tell a simply fact that the returns on Social Security are awful.

You do not measure SS returns by what you get versus what you paid because it is insurance - and there is a possibility of getting nothing. You want to look at the expected returns vs the present value of past contributions. By that measure Social Security isn't terribly different from spending a quarter to buy a dime for people entering the system.

Returns vary widely, though. Low-wage workers and married workers still get a decent deal.

If you have a difficult time with the moneys worth studies, feel free to email me here with questions.