Titanic Facts: The Ship. White Star Line was the company that built the Titanic, and was owned by J.P. Morgan, an American tycoon. The cost to build the RMS Titanic was $7.5 million. RMS stands for Royal Mail Steamer. It took 3,000 men two years to build the Titanic.
Workers and employers pay for Social Security. Workers pay 6.2 percent of their earnings up to a cap, which is $118,500 a year in 2015. (The cap on taxable earnings usually rises each year with average wages.) Employers pay a matching amount for a combined contribution of 12.4 percent of earnings.
Q24: How much has Social Security paid out since it started? A: From 1937 (when the first payments were made) through 2009 the Social Security program has expended $11.3 trillion. (See detailed tables of annual Social Security payments 1937-2008.