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incomes somewhere between twelve and eighteen thousand or so a year, in today's dollars."
"Gee, who's the twelve thousand and who's the eigh-teen?" Tom joked, with a wink at Cathy.
"Remember," Roy cautioned us, "as a percentage of your current income, that represents a relatively small figure . . . forty percent, maybe less . . . thirty, perhaps—"
"Or, for Cathy, about two," I facetiously sniped, before Tom could.
"Actually, all kidding aside, you're touching on a valid point. High-income types, whose annual earnings greatly exceed the maximum income used for Social Security calculation purposes, can find their Social Security benefits representing an almost negligible portion of their preretirement income. Although I'm sure you two boys are thinking, 'Hey, that's the kind of problem I wouldn't mind having,' you must remember that maintaining a high income level like Cathy's will demand a lot more in savings."
Roy went over to a drawer and pulled out a brochure, without noticing that his last point had fallen on unsym-pathetic ears.
"I strongly urge the three of you to contact the Social Security administration and to ask for a questionnaire entitled Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement. Several weeks after returning the form, you'll receive a list of all your estimated benefits, including your monthly retirement check stated in today's dollars, survivor's benefits, disability benefits, a year-by-year summary of your earnings that were subject to Social Security taxes, the amount of those taxes, and other relevant figures. It's a good idea to request an updated list of benefits every couple of years, because changes to either your income level or