Fundamental misunderstandings

Something jumped out of this Washington Post story (Many Americans accumulating debt faster than they’re saving for retirement) at me.

Currently, workers with retirement savings accounts put aside more than 11 percent of their pay for retirement — 5 percent in their own accounts, and 6.2 percent in Social Security.

Note to Michael A. Fletcher, who wrote the story - that 6.2 percent for Social Security is a TAX, which goes into the treasury, and is then used for whatever the Federal Government is currently spending money on. It is NOT savings. There is no Social Security "trust fund," there is no account with your name on it, there is just a transfer from current workers to current retirees, in the hopes that currents workers, when retired, will be supported by future workers. But that 5% that workers with retirement savings accounts are saving doesn't magically become 11% just because the Federal Government is taking 6.2% of their money and giving it to others.