SS serves an important function and it's nice to have that gauranteed income that can be used to keep body and soul together come what may. But remember that those SS taxes paid by your employer were really and truly compensation that would have gone to you if it hadn't gone to the government. When employers decide to create a position or hire someone to fill one, they do the math on all the costs--insurance, SS taxes, pension/401K matching,etc . That's what the position is worth to them. In the absence of SS taxes and in the presence of a free labor market, employees could be compensated in cash right up to that point. Viewed in that way, most of us would be far ahead if we had our own SS contributions and those of our employers to invest as we choose.From my point of view, this "annuity" was well worth the purchase price, and I'm now really appreciating all those contributions my former employers made.
That's not to say SS should be abolished. It provides some important social functions and at the very least probably allows most of us to take some more investment risks (= higher expected returns) than we would take in the absence of SS. But we should recognize it for what it is (a dependable base of income for which we pay a premium). And is not (a program that increases our net worth).
Last edited: