No, the SS taxes taken in every year are used to pay benefits.
If there are more taxes received than benefits paid, the excess goes into the Trust Fund. It's invested in the equivalent of a long-term Treasury Bond, which means the federal government is effectively borrowing it.
If there are less taxes received than benefits paid, the shortage is withdrawn from the Trust Fund. That means the federal government has to pay it back, and that comes out of the general fund.
But, since the federal government is already running a deficit, what is really happening: the federal government is selling a new REAL US Treasury Bond to an investor, and then using that money to pay off their debt to Social Security.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge here. It is very helpful.
I started taking my retirement benefit at 64 because I had been laid off with almost no prospect of finding another job, and I didn’t want to start withdrawing from my tax-deferred accounts. As soon as she was eligible my wife started taking the spousal benefit and will delay taking her full benefit until age 70.
We just happened to find out about this by word of mouth but it was one of the smartest moves we’ve made. We recently hired a new financial planner and as he was going through our profile he noticed our SS situation. He remarked that he can always tell when someone has done serious planning when he sees the spousal benefit being taken.