You pay your FICA.
Congress spends it funding current retirees and any ecess funds are spent on beetle dung research.
Congress issues an IOU to the SS Trust Fund for the amount they spent on beetle dung research and other things not related to Social Security.
The IOU, in the form of a worthless bond, is worthless.
Your SS contributions are not yours. If you die the money you contributed goes down the rat hole. Your loved ones get nothing, nobody passes go.
Rinse and repeat until the scheme falls under it's own weight.
It is simplicity in itself. I think people over think it because they can’t believe it can be that simple.