HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT CALCULATE WHAT MY RATE WILL BE?
It all depends on how much you contributed. The more money you made, the more you will get back in Social Security benefits. However, it’s not a direct relationship between how much you gave in FICA taxes. There is no separate account as there might be in an IRA. It is a Social Security program—we participate as a group. If you die before reaching retirement age the government doesn’t return your FICA payments. If you live many years on retirement, you continue to receive the monthly rate long after you’ve been paid much more than you contributed. This is a Social Security insurance program, not a retirement investment plan.
