"The benefit amounts are not calculated based on the earnings from you paid in, they are keyed to the cost of living."

I think you are confusing COLA - cost of living adjustment with benefits. My SS statement is very clear that my benefit is based on earned income - since that is what has been taxed- AND when I decide to start collecting my SS benefits. The system was designed as a safety net for those who earned too little to save or invest and had no pension to fall back on. These days even those with a pension can lose it to bankruptcy... case in point- KODAK.

If you are poor, you stay poor. What will help keep the system solvent is to apply the SS tax to a higher income level. Look at the limits set & it's obvious that the rich (aka highly paid corporate executives, etc.) are skating thanks to the way that inflation has eroded the buying power of the dollar. Apply the tax to a maximum of 250,000 and see what would happen... besides the screaming of the "poor" 1 percenters.

this came from a bank website:

Social Security is based on a sliding scale depending on your income, how long you work and at what age you retire. Social Security benefits automatically increases each year based on increases in the Consumer Price Index. Including a spouse increases your Social Security benefits by 1.5 times your individual estimated benefit. Please note that this calculator assumes that only one of the spouses work. Benefits could be different if your spouse worked and earned a benefit higher than one half of your benefit. If you are a married couple, and both spouses work, you may need to run the calculation twice - once for each spouse and their respective income. This calculator provides only an estimate of your benefits.

The calculations use the 2013 FICA income limit of $113,700 with an annual maximum Social Security benefit of $30,396 per year for a single person and 1.5 times this amount for a married couple. To receive the maximum benefit would require earning the maximum FICA salary for nearly your entire career. You would also need to begin receiving benefits at your full retirement age of 66 or 67 (depending on your birthdate). This calculator rounds your age of full Social Security benefits to the next highest full year. If your birthdate is between 1955 and 1959 your actual full retirement age for Social Security is 66 plus two months for each year after 1954. Your actual benefit may be lower or higher depending on your work history and the complete compensation rules used by Social Security.