How Social Security works...

West Cape May - How Social Security works... It is not your money that you paid in that you later get back. While you were working and paying into the system your money was paid to those who were already retired minus a chunk to the bureaucracy for administration. When you retire, your money will come from the younger folks working and paying in. It is similar to a Ponzi scheme. However in 1960 there were 5.1 payers for each beneficiary. The ratio has dropped to 2.8 to 1. In 2021 outlays were $1,145 billion, exceeding revenues of $1,088 billion, and is trending worse.