Dallas – The National Center for Policy Analysis today unveiled an Internet calculator that enables people, to estimate how much they will pay in Social Security taxes, what their monthly benefit will be and how much retirement income they would have if their Social Security taxes had been invested in stocks and bonds.
The calculator – which can be found at the NCPA's web site, www.ncpathinktank.org – requires only the individual's age, 1999 earnings, sex, planned retirement age and an investment decision (division between stocks and bonds) for Social Security taxes placed in private accounts.
The calculator draws on a giant database of census and other statistics. It includes thousands of work histories and earnings profiles gathered by the Census Bureau. The calculator also reflects Social Security laws governing benefit payments and the retirement age – which will differ depending on the person's age.
"Anyone with access to the Internet can see how much they gain or lose from participating in Social Security," said Senior Scholar Dorman Cordell.
The calculator provides users with estimates of:
- How much they will have paid in taxes by the time they reach retirement.
- How much their Social Security benefits will be worth at retirement.
- Their likely monthly benefit from Social Security.
- Their likely monthly pension if their payroll taxes had been invested in a portfolio of stocks and bonds.
"The calculator is easy to use, and gives people information they need," said Cordell.