[snuxoll]

I actually get a letter from the government every year showing how much money I have put into the social security trust, and how much I can expect when I retire if I keep putting in the same amount as I did last year.

You can view it online anytime here, actually: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/

Ultimately since it's a huge trust fund of course there's no "You have X money in the bank", but it does say I should expect "X money per month" when I retire. It'd be nice if it showed details of the trust fund overall.

[ceejayoz]

I get those too. Note that nowhere does it claim the amount you paid in is your balance. Your benefits won't go up if you retire at 100 years old. Your benefits won't run out if you live to 500. It's not like a 401(k) or IRA, where you have $x dollars in it that's your money and have to budget your withdrawals.

They won't update the "amount you will get" to reflect Congress dipping into the fund. The statements operate on the "if everything continues to go well" basis, and so what Congress does isn't reflected on them. No one gets their next statement and asks "hey, where'd my money go?"

That's why it's politically safe to raid, at least in the short term.

[loeg]

> They won't update the "amount you will get" to reflect Congress dipping into the fund. The statements operate on the "if everything continues to go well" basis, and so what Congress does isn't reflected on them.

Right.

They do say, "Your estimated benefits are based on current law. The law governing benefit amounts may change. Congress has made changes to the law in the past and can do so at any time." At least.