>>>Most people get far more out than they contributed<<<
That is true if there is no Investment of those funds over a Working Career spanning 45 Years or more.
I had our Financial guy work up an estimate of how much money I would have had all that money (including the matching Employer funds which is considered part of my compensation) was invested over my projected Working Career. For me, that is age 18 to age 65.
He had to make some assumptions, since I was only 55 at the time. Even then, he made sure to only use conservative investment vehicles in his estimations.
The result surprised even me. At age 65 he estimated I would have had approximately $2,500,000 and my Wife would have approximately $1,500,000.
Doesn’t matter anyway. I will start collecting at age 62 simply because I have Leukemia and my Lifespan will be somewhat limited. In other words, they will profit from my early demise. My Oncologist gave me a “survival’ window of age 67, but that is a fluid number. Better safe than sorry.
Oh yeah, one other thing. My childhood friend just passed away at age 61. Like me, he started his working career at age 18.
I think his Wife got $250 from SS to bury him and she will get a Survivor Benefit that replaces the SS she already receives from her own working Career. She will probably see an increase in her SS Check of about $300 a Month.
Yes, he did Marry an Older Woman and was a happy Man because of it. LOL
The government can change the benefits and eligibility requirements any time it wants to. You lose all claim to any contributions you have made. Calculating your contributions over a lifetime and trying to figure out how much you would have gotten in a private pension fund is just an exercise in futility and fantasy. If pigs had wings, they could fly.
SS is Ponzi scheme and for those of us at the top of the pyramid, it has worked out very well. For those entering the workforce today, it will not. Sorry to hear about your physical aliment. Good luck and hope that medical advancements will change the prognosis. We need every conservative we have in this fight against tyranny.