One of the best kept secrets of Social Security is that well to do folks have a large advantage over poorer folks in several ways:
—Well to do people generally live longer than poor people
—Well to do people have a job history that guarantees their benefit will be substantially higher than poor people
—Well to do people can afford to wait until 70 while poor people cannot
These factors have a multiplier effect on each other.
I’m an exception to that rule. I never made big income, I made my money off capital gains from investments, which SS ignores. So, I was able to retire at 60, (wife retired at 53) but her SS check is $200 a month higher than mine.
But the flip side is rich people receive a smaller benefit relative to what they contributed.