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.
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If you turned 65 in 1980:
Lifetime benefits: $452,000.
Lifetime taxes: $192,000.
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If you turned 65 in 2010:
Lifetime benefits: $555,000.
Lifetime taxes: $588,000.
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If you turn 65 in 2030:
Lifetime benefits: $699,000.
Lifetime taxes: $796,000.
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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: www.urban.org/publications/412281.html
Want to calculate your own benefits? www.ssa.gov/oact/anypia/index.html
