Just to be clear, I had our Finance guy run the numbers to see how much we would have if all that Money taken from us(and our Employers, which is really just part of our Compensation, but I digress) was Invested in the Market for the past 45-50 Years.
He never had anyone ask him to do that, and he was a Finance Guy for over 30 Years. He is pretty conservative with his Client’s money.
The result, he figured my Wife and I would have about Four Million Dollars at age 66, give or take. The miracle of straight line Investing.
Nothing but a friggin Ponzi scheme.
Well when you figure in 15.3% of your lifetime earnings is paid into as up to the maximum over your working life, even modest returns compounded over 50 years is a good bit of money.
You have to half that though for the money YOU paid in, unless self employed... your employer paid in the other half.
I have run the numbers on my own “contributions” and I am surprised it is as high over 40 years of payments. The actual dollars “invested” by me and my employers, for half that time I was my own employer, is $332,000 for SS and $213,000 for Medicare taxes. I have payed employment taxes since I was 13 and near the max since I was 22.