MSN Money - Social Security cuts: a tax hike for the young

MSN Money - Social Security cuts: a tax hike for the young: "Social Security benefits are calculated by a formula that attempts to adjust for both inflation and productivity growth. It does this to try to deliver the same 'replacement rate' over time so that workers of different generations can rely on Social Security for the same portion of their retirement income. For the average worker, that figure has been about 42% of pre-retirement wages. Lower-income workers get more. Higher-income workers get less.

Today, 66% of all retirees get at least half of their cash income from Social Security. This makes Social Security the difference between dignity and poverty for most retirees -- while literally saving some from starvation. There is no reason to believe this dependence will be less in the future."