DG,

""I unearthed our SS statements of earnings prior to retiring.... it was not an increased amount each year... nor was there a steady 4% increase in income to cover inflation...Look at, if you can find it, your earnings statements.  Did it go up by an even 4%/yr?"

Roberta knows what she is talking about.  'Younguns, like her and I, lived through the 70s, singing Kumbya while trying to WIT (Whip Inflation Then).  We would have LOVED to see 3% inflation back then!

I havn't done the research recently, but my guess is that the rate of inflation over her working lifetime was closer to 4%, then the traditional assumed 3%.