A new report from the Urban Institute presents updated figures in 2021 dollars for the lifetime benefits earned and the lifetime taxes paid by hypothetical workers participating in Social Security and Medicare. Both programs continue to fall well short of the benefits that current and future cohorts will receive. Given likely unsustainability of this system, looking at lifetime, not just annual, benefits and taxes allows policymakers to ascertain better how benefits and taxes might most fairly and efficiently be adjusted to achieve sustainability.

The report can be obtained at https://www.urban.org/research/publication/social-security-medicare-lifetime-benefits-and-taxes-2021/view/full_report.