Conflicting Numbers

["Marv. Rohrs" <rohrsm@asme.org>]

Much has been said about current retirees receiving more back in 
the form of benefits than they and their employers have paid in 
plus typical return on investments.  This does not agree with
 other statements that I have heard over the years.  It may apply 
to those who were in the lower range of the wage spectrum, but I
 doubt that it applies to those who have paid SS taxes for close
 to 60 years at the maximum contribution.  Benefits for those 
individuals are significantly lower, as a percent of taxable 
wages, than for the workers who were in the lower range of the 
wage spectrum.  Further, benefits are not calculated based upon 
the total contributions over a workers lifetime, but upon a 
certain number of years.

If anyone has the numbers, I would like to see the contributions
 by year that would have been made from 1940 to 1999 by someone 
who was paying the maximum tax for each year.  From that, I can 
run my own numbers on the value of an annuity that could have 
been purchased and then compare that with current benefits.