Weekend Humour: Captain America Is A Millionaire, Really

According to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Steve Rogers was born in 1920, became Captain America in 1942 and turned into a popsicle for “almost 70 years” in Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. Many long time fans of the comic believe Captain America would have not much money because the original comics say so. Well, that is not true for the Captain in the movie’s parallel universe. In fact, Captain America is likely a millionaire the moment he woke up!

The Military Has A Choice

Since Captain America was frozen and never declared dead. He was missing in action all along.

The moment he was found and reported alive, military had to choose between declaring Captain retired since the event or he was still in active service until the day he was rescued.

There is a huge difference in the amount of money owing to the Captain and who is responsible for the paycheque, depending on his military status.

If they considered Captain still on active duty until the moment he was found, it would be 65 years of full military pay while on duty. Although the pay back in 1940s is not much, the normal yearly increase in military pay would apply to Captain too, meaning he was entitled to a pay similar to the ones at the same rank in the same year in the past. The responsibility for the paycheque would be the military.

If they sneakily chose to declare Captain retired the moment he was frozen, he would be entitle to his military pension which was just a percentage of his final pay. But still, it was 65 years of military pension with cost of living adjustment in effect. The responsibility, however, would be switched to the veteran affairs.

The Old Age Security

United States old age security starts at 62 years old. Captain America is entitled to collect 33 years of old age security owing to him. Similar to the military pension, old age security has cost of living adjustment from year to year. The amount per month is not a lot but they do add up over time.

Although old age security in United States has a deduction formula for taking out part of the benefit based on the income one earned, it is not applicable to Captain America because he was not working at all if the military chooses to declare him retired. This means Captain American would be collecting full old age security benefits while he was frozen.

Should the military chose to keep Captain America on the payroll while he was frozen, Captain is not likely to get any old age security from the past because of his rising pay over the years. If this is the case, it is likely to work out in favour of the Captain as he would probably get a lot more money this way.

The Magic Of Interest, Compound or Not

US government pays interest on money it owes to its people although the rate is the absolute minimal based on the going rate set by Federal Reserve. For most people, this is totally insignificant but for the Captain with 65 years of sleep time under his belt, he gets the full impact of interest magic.

With the exception of the last 7 to 8 years, interest rate has always been on the high side in the past. In 1970s, we are talking about 8% or more for quite a number of years. This can boost the value of the Captain’s back pay significantly.

Majority of governments in the world do not usually pay compound interest, meaning that the interest payment owing to the people do not generate interest themselves. However, compound interest penalty is a common thing when government is going after back taxes not paid on time. They understand fully how compound interest works and take full advantage of that.

Captain America The Millionaire

Summing it all up, Captain America can expect several thousand dollars of yearly income owing to him from the 1940s. Then $15,000 on the low end to $25,000 median expectation of yearly income in 2010s according to government data. The income can be a combination of regular pay from the military, military pension and old age security benefits. It does not really matter much which specific source is involved as we are only interested in the amount.

Conservatively speaking, Captain America is entitled to more than a million dollar back pay.

For those interested in the details: At the low end, $12,000 average yearly income x 65 years with just 1% non-compound interest, the accumulated sum easily exceeds a million.

If Captain is getting a better deal, with the median expected level of income and a slightly better interest rate, his one time paycheque covering the past 65 years would be in the multi-million dollar range.

Sadly, Captain America fulfilled one of the American Dreams not by making more money, but by not spending a dime over 65 years.

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