it comes across as a pretty sick joke when people can throw away 50% of their contributions to one system, and still come out far better in another already available system.
with SS you get about a 2% COLA increase every year....privately investing your own 6.2% tax you can get a yearly 10%++ ROI compounded annually.
Many people though get
a lot more in benefits than what they paid in taxes. Ida Mae Fuller got about 924 times more out of it than what she paid in. For the first 20 years or so of social security those people made out like bandits paying in almost nothing and getting back many times what they paid in taxes.
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question: a person makes an average salary of $50000 per year for 45 years. About how much more in social security benefits will that person get versus what they paid in taxes?
GROK: A person earning an average of $50,000 per year (in nominal dollars, though analyses often adjust for wage indexing) over 45 years pays Social Security payroll taxes primarily at the employee rate of 6.2% (with employers matching another 6.2%, but the question focuses on what "they paid in taxes," typically meaning the individual's share, though full program contributions are often considered in net calculations).
Rough employee-only payroll taxes paid: 6.2% × $50,000 × 45 = $139,500 (this is a very rough undiscounted total; actual figures use indexed earnings, and the taxable maximum applies, but $50k has been below the cap in most recent years).
However, reliable estimates from sources like the Urban Institute and Tax Policy Center compare lifetime Social Security benefits (retirement, plus any survivors/disability aspects) to lifetime payroll taxes paid (usually the full 12.4% combined employee + employer share, as that's the cost to fund the system).
For an average earner (often around the national average wage, which has been in the $60k–$70k range recently but scales similarly), studies show that most single workers receive more in lifetime benefits than they (and their employers) paid in taxes, due to the program's progressive structure, longevity, and intergenerational transfers.
Key recent findings (adjusted to recent/prospective dollars, for workers retiring around 2020–2025 at age 65, with average earnings histories):
- A single average male earner might pay around $466,000–$500,000 in combined Social Security + Medicare taxes over a career but receive $640,000 in combined benefits → net +$140,000–$174,000 more in benefits.
- For Social Security alone (excluding Medicare), the net positive is smaller but still typically positive for average earners, especially singles with average or below-average longevity expectations aren't factored, but averages show benefits exceed taxes by tens to hundreds of thousands.
For scenarios closer to your $50,000 salary (slightly below recent averages but comparable for a steady mid-career earner):
- Lifetime Social Security benefits often exceed the worker's share of contributions by a significant margin, but when including the full payroll tax (12.4%), the net excess (benefits minus taxes) for a single average worker is often in the range of $100,000 to $200,000+ more in benefits, depending on lifespan, claiming age, and exact cohort.
- Couples (especially with one average and one lower/no earner) see even larger net positives, often $500,000+ more in benefits than taxes paid.
About how much more? For a single person with this earnings profile, expect roughly $100,000 to $250,000 more in lifetime Social Security benefits than the payroll taxes they paid in (focusing on the employee's 6.2% share) — or tens of thousands to around $150,000 net positive when using the full 12.4% contribution basis common in analyses. This varies widely by:
- How long you live (longer life → more benefits collected).
- When you claim (age 62 reduces monthly amount; delaying to 70 increases it).
- Marital status (spousal/survivor benefits boost couples).
- Exact birth year/cohort (earlier cohorts got better "deals"; future ones may get less due to solvency adjustments).
These are actuarial present-value or undiscounted lifetime totals from independent analyses (e.g., Urban Institute reports).
Social Security remains a positive net for most average earners, especially when including disability/survivor protections, though high earners often get less relative to contributions. For a personalized estimate, use the SSA's online calculators with your actual earnings record.
