Of course, this begs the question of exactly what percentage of your income you can expect to receive in monthly Social Security benefits when you retire. Unfortunately, the answer to that question is “it depends.”
Generally, the system is designed to give American’s 40% of their pre-retirement income, but what that means for any individual varies widely. Generally speaking, the less you earn now the more of your income Social Security will replace. This is because when calculating a monthly benefit the first $856 of income is multiplied by 90% while income between that amount and $5,157 is multiplied by 32%. Income above $5,157 is multiplied by 15%.
An elder law attorney could be helpful in clearing up any confusion and advising you on what to expect upon retirement.
