I started in 1966
at end of 07 I had paid $103,500 and my employer a similar amount
this does not include the 26,800 for Medicare (also my employer paid a similar amount)
so take the $207,000 SS amount, divide by my monthly check of 1700 (age 62) and get 121 months - however SS is indexed for inflation so it would actually be a shorter time - of course this all assumes somehow my kids can put enough into the tax system to keep it alive
If you had taken the social security taxes collected from you and your employer ($206,000) over the past 40 years and each year instead had put those into a bond paying 5%, you would now have a nest egg in excess of $450,000!!!!
And assuming as a retired person you only drew 5% a year from that $450,000 nest egg, you would receive $22,500 each year (nearly $2000 per month) and your family would still have the $450,000 when you died.
Yup those government programs are sure a great thing.