The reality of SS is that the contributions you make into the program don't belong to you. The Supreme Court decided this, Flemming vs Nestor, some time ago. Moreover, Congress can change the rules anytime they want, e.g., in 1983 they changed the age for full benefits from 65 to 67. I agree, there is no legal individual ownership of amounts paid into the Social Security fund. There is, however, a current legal obligation to pay benefits at a specified level to qualified recipients. As with almost all government expenditures, Congress has the power to make changes or even eliminate the program entirely. There is such a thing as political reality and considering the size of the voting block dependent of Social Security, reduction or elimination of payments to current and imminent beneficiaries is about as likely as me riding my bicycle to the moon. As with the change of retirement age from 65 to 67, any further changes will be at the margins and will only impact future beneficiary who will have time to make other arrangements.
There is such a thing as political reality and considering the size of the voting block dependent of Social Security, reduction or elimination of payments to current and imminent beneficiaries is about as likely as me riding my bicycle to the moon. No doubt there will be resistance to any changes in the entitlement programs, which is why this country is in such dire fiscal straits. These programs are unsustainable and unaffordable. They must be reformed or they will bankrupt the country. We are placing the tab on our children and grandchildren.
The average Medicare recipent receives three times in benefits compared to their contributions.
This graph shows that the average man and woman (average defined in the study as average income over their working lives and living to the average life expectancy) who start receiving benefits in 2010 get over 3 times more in benefits than they pay in to the system! Of importance, the study accounts for inflation by calculating all past taxes and future payments in 2010 dollars to provide an accurate comparison.
If the notion that Medicare recipients are simply "getting back what they paid in" is false then where is the money coming from? Simply, the excess received is being borrowed from younger generations and the cost is more than we can bear.