Life Expectancy for Social Security

Eighty years later the numbers have skewed to grotesque proportions. It seems when Roosevelt installe Social security, they were counting on people not living long enough to cash in at age 65. They should have use the "years remaining" column they would have seen that people reaching 65 in 1935 would live 12 years on average. Thanks Harry.

Life Expectancy for Social Security
If we look at life expectancy statistics from the 1930s we might come to the conclusion that the Social Security program was designed in such a way that people would work for many years paying in taxes, but would not live long enough to collect benefits. Life expectancy at birth in 1930 was indeed only 58 for men and 62 for women, and the retirement age was 65. But life expectancy at birth in the early decades of the 20th century was low due mainly to high infant mortality, and someone who died as a child would never have worked and paid into Social Security. A more appropriate measure is probably life expectancy after attainment of adulthood.