Social Security: How much I pay, how much I get

[August 06, 2012]  (AP) -- Lifetime Social Security taxes and benefits for people turning 65 in different decades. The examples are for a married couple in which both spouses earned average wages ($43,500 in 2011). Projected benefits assume that both spouses have average life spans after turning 65. Want more benefits? Live longer.

If you turned 65 in 1960:

• Lifetime Social Security benefits: $259,000.

• Lifetime Social Security taxes: $36,000.

If you turned 65 in 1980:

• Lifetime benefits: $452,000.

• Lifetime taxes: $192,000.

If you turned 65 in 2010:

• Lifetime benefits: $555,000.

• Lifetime taxes: $588,000.

If you turn 65 in 2030:

• Lifetime benefits: $699,000.

• Lifetime taxes: $796,000.

Note: In 1960, a 65-year-old woman could expect to live 16 more years, on average, and a 65-year-old man could expect to live 13 more years. In 2030, a 65-year-old woman could expect to live 21 more years, on average, and a 65-year-old man could expect to live 19 more years.

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Source: Study by Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane of the Urban Institute.

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Online:

Study:
http://www.urban.org/publications/412281.html

Want to calculate your own benefits?
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/anypia/index.html

[Associated Press]

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