A worker retiring in 2027 could receive about $730,000 in lifetime Social Security benefits despite having paid less than $200,000 in taxes alongside their employer. The figure sounds startling. Yet it reflects how Social Security was designed.
An analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) found that Americans retiring this decade are on track to receive benefits worth about 133% of the payroll taxes paid by them and their employers, measured in present-value terms. When only workers' own contributions are counted, the return rises to about 265%.
