And the money went right out the door to the then current crop of retirees!
As long as there are sufficient numbers of those paying in(i.e., working) the system sort of works.
The creators of SS made certain assumptions about the paying in demographics & the receiving demographics mainly they wouldn’t change much, well they did!
Another problem the original poster person for SS - Ida Mae Fuller put about $25 into the system but received about $23K. She lived far longer then “assumptions” allowed for. Unfortunately for FDR’s brilliant scheme their were (& are!) 1000’s, 10,000’s and thanks to modern medicine 100,000’s of Ida Mae Fullers. It’s system that can not work. I think deliberately done to make the “retired” demographic a permanent government dependency. “Evil” insurance company executives warned FDR’s Congress (and FDR & his cronies) it would not work.
What truly get’s me is that the SS system was supposedly a copy of the Bismarkian system. This system worked and seems to have continued to work through defeat in 2 world wars and a world-wide depression. The explanation of ‘Well their Germans!’ isn’t really good enough.
Replying to myself
Ok small correction: Ida Mae paid in about $25 but received $23K.
Another personal comment about the Bismarkian system.
Think about Imperial Germany.. you know Kaiser Bill.. Hun in the Sun and all that!
Took a less cynical approach to it’s people’s “Golden Years” then Saint Franklin & his heavenly choir of do-gooders!