SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Social Security replaces a percentage of your pre-retirement income based on your lifetime earnings.
The portion of your pre-retirement wages that Social Security replaces is based on your highest 35 years of earnings and varies depending on how much you earn and when you choose to start benefits.
When you work, you pay taxes into Social Security. We use the tax money to pay benefits to:
- People who have already retired.
- People who are disabled.
- Survivors of workers who have died.
- Dependents of beneficiaries.
The money you pay in taxes isn’t held in a personal account for you to use when you get benefits. We use your taxes to pay people who are getting benefits right now. Any unused money goes to the Social Security trust fund that pays monthly benefits to you and your family when you start receiving retirement benefits.