My parents lived comfortably on just Social Security in retirement (pension, supplement)

[knoxgarden]

I'm "retired" on Social Security Disability -- really just 8 years early. My earning years were spent in Washington, D.C. with high wages so I'm at the top of the scale. That stretches pretty far in Knoxville, TN, where I am now. I pay the mortgage on a condo and just bought a new (used) car.
I've got a part time job that adds about $400-500 a month. I can actually earn more with disability but can't find anything else I physically can do.
I love Knoxville and it has a lot of cheap, interesting things to do so I'm happy here. I'm able to go out to dinner, concerts, movies.
There are some states that freeze property taxes when you hit 65. Tennessee just passed a law to do that although it's up to the individual counties to implement it.

[cousinsal]

It's really a matter of where you live, if your house is paid off, if you have health problems and need prescriptions, if you have any family to help in times of emergency, etc.

Supposedly, 30% of retired people live on Social Security alone. It certainly would be easier if there are two people. The ones who are most likely to be in poverty during retirement are single women.

Nobody will be able to get rid of social security - too many old people coming into retirement. Don't ****-off the old folks - they have huge numbers and were the ones who marched and demonstrated and "sat in" years ago. There are 80 million Baby Boomers.

[MotleyCrew]

Cousinsal, my husband tends to agree with you. He thinks it is like killing the goose that laid the golden egg. I fear that it will not be there in 10 years when we reach 65. If it is, it will be substantially less and not a living wage by any stretch. It was never meant to be a living wage, yet some people do just that.

[LM1]

Social Security was a classic Ponzi Scheme that was destined to fail from the outset and stands as glaring testimony to the ability of present day politicians to adversely impact future generations for the sake of short term political expediency.

With that said, we've already gone and 'fed the squirrels' so to speak, so we now bear an enormous obligation to made due with what we have.

People really, really need to understand that the functional intent of the Social Security system wasn't "Golf Course Living For All". It was meant to provide a minimal net to ensure that people who lived beyond their working years didn't starve. It wasn't meant to buttress their existing lifestyle with a monthly check so they could afford a higher standard of living. It wasn't meant to provide for "entertainment expenses".

The real tragedy of Social Security was that it removed the onus from the individual to be responsible for their own retirement and created the illusion that retirement was a birthright provided by the government... and of course, when they get there, what they're "given" is never enough.

In the spectrum of my own retirement considerations, a Social Security check occupies precisely 0% of my planning.

[strawberryfield]

I think it's how you define "comfortably." I could live on what your parents live on, but that's not even close to "comfortable" for me, consequently I will be taking money into retirement with me (barring a catastrophe, in which case, I'll just deal with what I have!).

[brightdoglover]

1) Change the income cap on Soc. Sec. and there's no problem. Now, healthcare...

2) Just read another article on CNN/Money "I have$1.5 million and want to retire and will I have enough" and on goes the idea that one must have zillions ot retire at all.

[nancy thereader]

Never wanted to travel- he said he saw enough in France and Germany 1944-45!

That's funny, bdl. That is EXACTLY what my Dad always said.

[Ultrarunner]

I know several widows that live only on Social Security. One lives in a studio apt and the other in a very modest 850 sq foot home.

They both are frugal, especially when it comes to lighting and heat. Both are avid coupon clippers, neither own a car.

The one with the home has a green thumb. She is always in her garden and produces quite a bounty from such a small backyard. I think she lives from her fruits and vegetables and she has 2 chickens that eat the leftover garden greens.

Both have their health. I think health is the wild card, more that anything else with the greatest impact on retirement.

[james higson]

In the uk we recieve 200 dollars a week over the age of 65 and free
health care how does this compare with us

[brightdoglover]

Social Security need "only" raise the income cap and there won't be any problem with funding. Surely there are plenty of incomes over the current cap ($97k?).
Now, health care, there's the 800-pound gorilla.