The Role of Social Security Benefits
Social Security benefits are not meant to be a full replacement for your previous salary, they are meant to be a supplement to help you live off of your regular savings. The average benefit comes out to $1,341 per month, just above the poverty line if no other source of income is counted. This equates to about a 40% replacement rate for the average worker. Most experts agree that to have a comfortable retirement you would need to maintain 70% of your pre-retirement income. This delegates Social Security to the role of a supplement to your savings built up during your career. For more information on this subject, visit this article by Mark Miller with TIME Money.