Social Security is not meant to be a retirement plan.
Like most pyramid schemes SS is meant to benefit the administrators (politicians) not the participants...imagine paying into SS for 45 years as a single person, dying at 66 and getting only a death benefit of a few hundred sollars...it should be a crime...
It is the biggest scam I could imagine. Imagine an employee putting away 12% of his/her income into his/her own account over 40 years how much would be in there???? At least million or more.
SS is nothing but a present tax to provide welfare payments later in life, if you make it.