[sojournerc]

Nope, my brothers and I inherited their private savings, but no public benefits.

My mom received a portion of my father's air force pension after he passed, but not us since we weren't dependents any longer.

[worrycue]

I take it contributing to SS is voluntary? Else it’s kind of like robbery.

When you take a job with a pension, you run the risk of not being able to collect that pension if you die early. But it’s your choice to take the job.

[sojournerc]

SS is withheld in every paycheck by your employer and you can't opt out. The employer pays half and the other (6.2%) is withheld from the employee's gross income. Currently totaling 12.4% of income.

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc751