For more than eight decades, Social Security has been providing a financial foundation for America's aging workforce. Based on more than two decades of annual surveys conducted by national pollster Gallup, anywhere from 80% to 90% of retirees lean on their monthly Social Security check to cover at least some portion of their expenses.

What's interesting is that even though America's top retirement program is vital to the financial well-being of tens of millions of current and future retired workers, the payouts provided on a monthly basis are fairly modest. In 2022, a worker with average lifetime earnings would see 37% of their previous wages/salary replaced by their Social Security benefit at age 65.

Nevertheless, the average Social Security retired worker benefit has changed meaningfully since the program's inception. Let's take a closer look at how the average Social Security check has grown each year for retired workers since 1950.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com