If I Die, What Happens to the Social Security Taxes I Paid? - NewsBreak

I have heard that when my wife and I pass, the government keeps all we have paid into social security. Is this correct? Signed: Curious Senior. Dear Curious: The Social Security taxes paid while you and your wife were working weren't deposited into a personal account for each of you; rather they were used to pay benefits to those collecting Social Security at the time. That's the way the program has worked since enacted in 1935 and the way it still works today. The money you contributed has already been used to pay benefits to others. However, hopefully you and your wife will live to claim your own benefits, and what you get when you claim will be based upon your earnings record over your entire lifetime (up to earnings you paid Social Security FICA payroll taxes on). Those historical earnings are adjusted for inflation and your lifetime average monthly earnings amount is determined, from which your base benefit is calculated. Just as you and your wife helped pay for those getting SS b