Table :

TABLE 36.1 Net Benefits of Social Security (Single male assuming various retirement years and average wages)

Average Wages

Retiree Turned 65 in 1975

Retiree Turned 65 in 2010

Retiree Turns 65 in 2030

Low

$46,807

$8,286

$3,062

Medium

$53,999

−$43,255

−$85,945

High

$52,284

−$95,212

−$193,874

Source: Steuerle, C. Eugene, and Adam Carasso. 2004.

The USA TODAY Lifetime Social Security and Medicare Benefits Calculator Assumptions and Methods, http://www.urban.org/retirement_policy/url.cfm?ID=900746. Low, medium, and high earnings are $30,000, $60,000, and $120,000 in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars.