[Iron Munro]

Social Security is not an entitlement; it is a contract. I started paying when I was 15 years old and I am now 64. I paid in and am now collecting.

They can end it if they pay us back the money they took from us plus the interest we would have earned with that money.

That money probably wouldn't make me a millionaire but it would be a lot more than I expect to ever get back in monthly Social Security payments.

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[justlurking]

They can end it if they pay us back the money they took from us plus the interest we would have earned with that money.

See my previous posting, just above this. Congress can end it any time, without paying you a dime.

That money probably wouldn't make me a millionaire but it would be a lot more than I expect to ever get back in monthly Social Security payments.

It WOULD make me a millionaire. This isn't even hypothetical based on stock market returns: I've done the calculations, using the same historical long-term US Treasury Bond rates that were earned by the Social Security Trust Fund over the past 40 years.

Your break-even point (present value of your future Social Security benefits, vs. cash in your pocket now) depends on how soon you start taking benefits. If you wait until age 70, you'll actually reach that break-even point at an earlier age, vs. starting at age 62. That's because you get an 8% increase in benefits for every year you delay.

However, I can't really tell you when your break-even point would be, because it also depends on your average income. If you are close to the median family income (about $50,000 per year) before you retire, the break even would be around age 85.

[Fhios]

"They can end it if they pay us back the money they took from us plus the interest we would have earned with that money."

If they could do that, Social Security wouldn't be insolvent.