New Delhi, April 29 -- Ever wondered how much social security cheque Warren Buffett, whose net worth runs into the hundreds of billions, receives? Surprisingly, he gets one based on the same formula that applies to everyone else. Not a dollar of his stock holdings, dividends or investment gains reflects in the payout that Social Security Administration (SSA) sends him every month.

That's how democratic the system is when it comes to determining US retirement payouts.

Social Security calculates your retirement benefit using your 35 highest-earning years. First, it calculates your average monthly income during those years and accordingly decides your monthly payments. If you worked for less than 35 years, the missing years are counted as ...