Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Economics > Personal Finance
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 08-16-2010, 02:30 PM
 
Location: State of Superior
8,733 posts, read 15,881,532 times
Reputation: 2869

Advertisements

Social Security IS the third rail of Politics. No doubt about it , and , now that the Boomer's are getting or about to get , their nourshment....well , it would be suicide to talk against it. We may have other mods in our system , but Social Security will be with us for many many years.... The largest block of voters are the Senior crowd, its only going to get larger. A Senior exempt VAT tax may be the next thing coming down the pike, like it or not.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-16-2010, 03:06 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles area
14,017 posts, read 20,837,799 times
Reputation: 32530
Default How adequate is Social Security alone?

Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
No, you're not just screwed. There will be Social Security, and most retirees are living on that. It is adequate for a life of comfort and dignity.
I agree that Social Security will be there and that the "sky is falling" people are ridicuous. But statistically, "most" retirees are not living on their SS because over half have other sources of income that are more than negligible.

SS is only "adequate for a life of comfort and dignity" under certain conditions:
1. The retiree already has a house which is paid for.
2. The retiree lives in an area with a very low cost of living.
3. The retiree is used to living frugally (or gets used to it in a hell of a hurry!) and has very simple tastes.
4. The retiree has enough years of work under Social Security to be near the top, rather than the bottom, of the range of SS retirement benefits, because even the maximum benefit is not very much.

I think it is generally recognized that most people struggling to survive on Social Security alone have an extremely difficult time of it and are in a very unenviable position.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-16-2010, 03:14 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,610,587 times
Reputation: 36642
Quote:
Originally Posted by cyclone8570 View Post
How can I lie about something that hasn't happened yet?

Unless... you built a time machine and know that in the future I'm wrong?
We are being told lies about the current state of the SS, which has happened yet, by people who harbor a fervent desire that the lies will influence the future.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-16-2010, 03:40 PM
 
16,087 posts, read 41,019,865 times
Reputation: 6374
Quote:
Originally Posted by Escort Rider View Post
I agree that Social Security will be there and that the "sky is falling" people are ridicuous. But statistically, "most" retirees are not living on their SS because over half have other sources of income that are more than negligible.

SS is only "adequate for a life of comfort and dignity" under certain conditions:
1. The retiree already has a house which is paid for.
2. The retiree lives in an area with a very low cost of living.
3. The retiree is used to living frugally (or gets used to it in a hell of a hurry!) and has very simple tastes.
4. The retiree has enough years of work under Social Security to be near the top, rather than the bottom, of the range of SS retirement benefits, because even the maximum benefit is not very much.

I think it is generally recognized that most people struggling to survive on Social Security alone have an extremely difficult time of it and are in a very unenviable position.
I agree - SS will just be enough to pay taxes, insurance and a bit of upkeep on a paid-off home. If you want to eat or do anything else, you better have some other source of income.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-16-2010, 03:44 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,610,587 times
Reputation: 36642
Quote:
Originally Posted by Escort Rider View Post
I agree that Social Security will be there and that the "sky is falling" people are ridicuous. But statistically, "most" retirees are not living on their SS because over half have other sources of income that are more than negligible.

SS is only "adequate for a life of comfort and dignity" under certain conditions:
1. The retiree already has a house which is paid for.
2. The retiree lives in an area with a very low cost of living.
3. The retiree is used to living frugally (or gets used to it in a hell of a hurry!) and has very simple tastes.
4. The retiree has enough years of work under Social Security to be near the top, rather than the bottom, of the range of SS retirement benefits, because even the maximum benefit is not very much.

I think it is generally recognized that most people struggling to survive on Social Security alone have an extremely difficult time of it and are in a very unenviable position.
Social security is enough for a modicum of dignity. It is not intended to provide the retiree with the same standard of living he had before retirement. The average SS beneficiary in the us is getting $1,112 a month. But that includes spouses who worked casually or irregularly. Men who worked regularly through their lives receive a great deal more, as do their widows. A single person can live just fine on that in the US, as long as they don't need to live in Westchester or Santa Barbara. A retired couple living together who both worked would get an average of $2,200 a month, and I never made that much in my life.

Single SS beneficiaries that live on only $1,112 are eligible for a lot of other public benefits, like food stamps, low-income housing, and medicaid.

A retiree and his wife, both at the top of eligible benefits, receive $56K a year from SS alone. Not what I would call "struggling" or "unenviable". The SS, if it were really hurting, could reduce that, without compromising its mandate to provide a safety net for low-to-middle income workers.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-16-2010, 10:25 PM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,610,587 times
Reputation: 36642
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lakewooder View Post
I agree - SS will just be enough to pay taxes, insurance and a bit of upkeep on a paid-off home. If you want to eat or do anything else, you better have some other source of income.
What taxes and insurance are you talking about? SS benefits are not taxed, and beneficiaries get Medicare for $95 a month.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-16-2010, 11:04 PM
 
185 posts, read 699,639 times
Reputation: 139
Taxes and insurance on a paid-off home. Those still have to be paid. Along with life and car insurance.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-17-2010, 01:19 AM
 
Location: Victoria TX
42,579 posts, read 86,610,587 times
Reputation: 36642
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainna View Post
Taxes and insurance on a paid-off home. Those still have to be paid. Along with life and car insurance.
It was never the purpose of Social Security to provide a lavish and luxurious estate for a wealthy retiree to live in. Their mansion can be sold for enough money to live on for the rest of their lives.

It is not fair to criticize SS because a person who made millions during his lifetime does not receive enough benefits to continue his opulent lifestyle. Which appears to be Escort Rider's and Lakewooder's criticism.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-17-2010, 01:42 AM
 
18,634 posts, read 33,198,289 times
Reputation: 36952
Soc. Security benefits are taxed in some amounts in some states.
My father lives quietly on Soc.Sec. (not the top amount). He lives in a paid-for trailer, does not keep a car and walks to most things (often miles). He buys food, pays Medicare, takes care of his cat, pays the lot/utilities rent, and tries to have some left over for trips to Atlantic City to blow what's left.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-17-2010, 06:46 AM
 
Location: State of Superior
8,733 posts, read 15,881,532 times
Reputation: 2869
The points being made are that you CAN live on Social Security. Getting your affairs in order to the degree that you will be able to do so , is the real hurdle. Things you will still have facing you are transportation ( a car ,payments or repairs,take your choice). Along with that comes co-pays on Insurance, Automobile liability,homeowners insurance,.Utility bills ( depending on where you live these can be expensive). and yes you pay income tax also along with property tax.
Add into all this the real fact that most Seniors still have payments on cars, credit cards, and second mortages....all adds up to the fact living on Social Security alone would be impossiable for most folks.... yes you should be able to do it, and some are better managers of their funds than others, not all Seniors spend their days at the Slots, nor do they all have house payments ether. Its just that way too many do.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Economics > Personal Finance
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top