At its root Social Security is, and always has been, an inter-generational transfer of wealth. The taxes paid by today’s workers and their employers don’t go into a dedicated individual account, nor do Social Security checks represent a return on invested capital. (Although you might be forgiven for thinking so, since the “personalized Social Security statements” that used to be mailed out once a year and now are available online detail your payment history and projected monthly benefits.) Rather, the benefits received by today’s retirees are funded by the taxes paid by today’s workers; when those workers retire, their benefits will be paid for by the next generation of workers’ taxes