Dane Does Data | SSA
Social Security Maximum Taxable Earnings
Default scenario

2 · Allocate and Invest the Reserve

—Blended assumed return
Cash—16.67% at 2.5%— return— rebalance
Bonds—33.33% at 4.0%— return— rebalance10-year ladder supports the default refund schedule
Equities—50% at 7.5%— return— rebalance

3 · Inflation-Adjusted Contributions Returned

— In — — pilot workers
Investment return—

Pilot reserve waterfall

What remains after the displayed payouts?

Opening reserve + contribution + return − payout

Opening reserve—
Contributions—
Investment return—
Payouts in ——
Reserve after obligations paid to date—

Reserve assets remaining after inflation-adjusted worker obligations paid through the selected year; this is not a solvency estimate.

Amounts and return assumptions are shown in constant 2024 purchasing-power dollars. Worker contributions are therefore treated as inflation-adjusted at repayment using Social Security’s CPI-W COLA convention. Fixed real returns are compounded at constant rates for a simplified demonstration with no volatility, fees, taxes, mortality, or changing asset assumptions; this is not an actuarial forecast.

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One-year pilot · 2024 wage workers

An invested reserve built from wages above the cap

A fixed pilot cohort contributes for one year, the reserve invests the money, and each worker’s contribution is returned at retirement with its purchasing power preserved using Social Security’s CPI-W COLA convention. Inflation protection does not compensate workers for lost liquidity or foregone investment returns.

Investment buckets

Cash
Bonds
Equities

Liability matching: the default ten-year refund schedule aligns with the recommended ten years of bonds. A bond ladder can mature alongside scheduled payments while cash covers near-term refunds and equities remain invested for longer obligations.

Passive-investment mandate: the illustration assumes low-cost, total-market index funds for both bonds and equities. It does not assume security selection, industry targeting, or discretionary market timing.

The default 6.2% applies only the employee OASDI share to wage-and-salary earnings above the taxable maximum. The pilot adds no employer-side assessment and excludes self-employment income. All displayed dollars and return rates are real, constant-2024-dollar values.