You've heard "buy term and invest the difference," right? Well, it's time to apply the same logic to social insurance: Skip the employment tax and invest the difference. Had you done it over the last 40 years or so, you might be significantly better off. How much better off? It all depends. A basic analysis for someone about to retire, however, would involve a choice between about $400,000 of your own money -- or $1,798 a month from Social Security. Social Security: not a funded pension I did this calculation because many retired readers responded to my recent "McJobs/retiree exchange...