Advanced Diploma of Financial Planning (ADFP) 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Social Security is designed as a safety net for workers in their retirement, providing a percentage of pre-retirement earnings through benefits. For lower- and middle-wage earners, the benefit formula is progressive, meaning that it replaces a higher percentage of income than it does for upper-wage earners. This structural characteristic allows Social Security to serve as an adequate wage replacement for those in lower and middle income brackets, meeting basic financial needs in retirement.

However, for upper-wage earners, the payments received from Social Security generally do not replace a significant enough portion of their pre-retirement income. As their earnings are typically higher, the capped benefit limit applied to Social Security means that, relative to their previous income, the replacement rate is less adequate. Therefore, while Social Security provides a reasonable amount of support for lower- and middle-wage workers, it cannot be considered sufficient for upper-wage earners, who often require additional savings or pension plans to maintain their standard of living in retirement.