Of course, they don't have a cent saved up.

What they get – when they are "eligible" to receive it – is a monthly dole, the amount determined by the dole master. That being the federal government. You are "owed" exactly nothing because you own nothing. The courts have said so, explicitly. Social Security is exactly the same as any other welfare program with the exception of one difference. You are not forced to "contribute" to other welfare payments.

You are simply forced to pay taxes to fund them.

One of the clearest proofs that you have nothing saved up in your Social Security "account" is what happens to your "savings" when you die. Your spouse, children/family do not inherit a cent. The dole just ends the moment your life does.

Contrast this with the inheritance your spouse, children/family would get after your death if you'd had a savings account or some kind of annuity into which you'd paid (voluntarily) over the years. The balance remaining would be owed to whomever you designated as your heirs.

But every cent you have been forced to "contribute" to Social Security has already been spent – one someone else. Or something else (the government now spends the "contributions" people are forced to make on various other things the government has decided merit spending the money on). Another way to say this is that what was once your  money is long gone and that is why there is none left to pass on to your heirs after your death.