Medicare Trust Fund to run out in 8 years. SS in 16 (50+, social security)

[Sunaimer]

So much for a secure retirement....If this is true, there will be a lot of people hurting. See this article. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/u...-finances.html

I’m 55 and planning on retiring early...not so sure now. What are your thoughts on Medicare Trust Fund and SS running out? And will this affect the not-so-affordable Obamacare.

[mathjak107]

everything always gets dealt with and funded in the 11th hour . social security will be funded . the age for full benefit will likely be pushed out . maybe changes in spousal .

medicare can be a bit different as time goes on. it will always be there but like health insurance seemed to go ,more and more costs get dumped on us . likely medicare will be means tested further by income with jumps in premiums coming in early than now and maybe deductibles related to income .

lower income brackets for premium increases were put in place this year . that is likely to continue and hit lower incomes . each year the medicare deductible goes up too . i can see them having an income linked deductible eventually .

[marino760]

Originally Posted by Sunaimer

So much for a secure retirement....If this is true, there will be a lot of people hurting. See this article. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/u...-finances.html

I’m 55 and planning on retiring early...not so sure now. What are your thoughts on Medicare Trust Fund and SS running out? And will this affect the not-so-affordable Obamacare.

It means nothing to people already retired or near retirement age. SS and medicare will be funded just like it always has been but probably with a few changes to it. It doesn't mean a lot of people will be hurting. Those benefits will be changed for people retiring down the road years from now so try not to be a fear monger. Some people on this board are constantly paranoid about their SS already.
Besides, none of this is earth shattering news.

[pvande55]

I'm sure that whatever Congress is in office will deal with it in 7-3/4 years.

[Vision67]

No worries.

We Geezers vote!

[galaxyhi]

Sub,

If you retire early, do you have substantial funds for retirement? Or are you expecting SS exclusively? A mix?

That will depend on your ability to be solvent (And for how long) in retirement.

SS will be "fixed" somehow as the problem becomes crucial. I read a report this morning on CNN news on my phone, thst they may curtail benefits by up to 21%. If they do do that, waiting to claim may be your best hedge against it.

I'm on SSDI , was retired medically at age 40. I am turning 55 this year. I can earn a small amount from a job, which I work part time 2 days a week, at about minimum. That keeps me below the limit, increases my SS for when it becomes permenant, and adds to my SSDI. I'm doing the working person with disabilities routine for thise reasons. After 14 years I can tell you my SSDI doesn't pay the bills like it did when I first started on it. I get around with a cane and have a bad back hip and knee, along with psychiatric problems. I'm limited On what i can do even part time for work due to thise issues.

sub, my advice would be plan to retire later, save and invest as much as you can (carefully as the current bull market may not last), and then, only then, see if you have the wherewithal to retire earlier than expected at any given time.

The daily grind gets tiring I know, heck I'm tired of the daily grind at only part time, but it's some times got to be done.

If you find you DO have the wherewithal to retire earlier, then go for it, but if not and your job is really getting to you, look to change fields/jobs BEFORE you leave, and get a new job lined up before quitting or taking a retirement package. At 55 , You are facing what I am: age discrimination. It's in existence strongly, though they will claim other reasons for not hiring you. If you do apply and interview, tell them you are going to work until 70, even if you end up not. That way they will figure they have you for the job at least a decade if not longer, depending on your age at time of hiring.

The decision to retire early is easy if you have 2 million or so, but if not, plan to work longer, and if it changes in the future, you can always call it quits early.

A bigger factor may be health insurance coverage, kicking in at 65 for Medicare.

Try to take a lesson from my experience, at the 12-15 year from taking SS, you may find it doesn't pay the bills like it used to, requiring either more of your own funding, or reducing your livelihood closer to poverty.

That last sentence is crucial for our planning, for anyone.

Good luck

[eliza61nyc]

Originally Posted by Sunaimer

So much for a secure retirement....If this is true, there will be a lot of people hurting. See this article. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/u...-finances.html

I’m 55 and planning on retiring early...not so sure now. What are your thoughts on Medicare Trust Fund and SS running out? And will this affect the not-so-affordable Obamacare.

SS is not going anywhere. ever. Now that does not mean it wont be changed but it's staying. As @ mathjack alluded to, we (this country's morons in power) do not do anything until absolutely necessary.

lol, as the popular saying goes "Americans will always do the right thing after exhausting all other possibilities".

And as @Vision67 says, Seniors vote and they've got spare time to stalk their representatives.

I'm also planning on retiring at 58 but i do have retiree health care that will kick in until I'm 65

[GeoffD]

I'm not worried about the Social Security part. Even when the sham 'trust fund' is exhausted in 2034, Social Security is still 70%+ funded from payroll taxes. It's highly unlikely that anyone age 50+ now will be impacted by any changes to the program. Politicians who voted for benefit cuts would be tarred and feathered by the voters.


Medicare is going to be 'reformed'. It's inevitable. The rational way to reform it is to make it far harder to spend big money in the last year of life. That's 25% of all Medicare spending. The other 800 pound gorilla is expensive chronic health problems that are behavior-induced. If we're going to ration health care, it makes sense to insist that people do their part. Stay in shape. Eat properly. Don't smoke. Etc.

[craigiri]

[mod cut -politics]

I was told SS and Medicare would be 100% gone by the time I needed them. Guess what? A nice SS check is deposited into my account each month.

This "day of reckoning" will never come...because it's not a bit different than the 1.5 TRILLION (and much more considering planned deficits) that was just added to the debt.

2/3 of all health care in this country is paid by the government. Yet many of you fool yourselves into thinking your premiums are paying your way. They are not. Not even close....

Most ALL Americans are on welfare. Period. Put another way, if you are a couple or a family and don't pay at least 50-60K+ per year in Federal and Property and State taxes, then it is very likely others (or debt - which IS others) are paying your way.

So any talk about programs going broke is quite silly - the Pots calling the Kettles Black.
(Note - I have written quite a few 6 figure checks for yearly taxes so I think I can somewhat claim I am paying my way. That is in addition to $1200 a month premiums, all dental care (cash) and much more....)....

If nothing more that gives me the right to note that many others (most?) are on welfare..on my dime.

[cebuan]

Conservative economists have been issuing those ten-year warnings since the 1960s, using every available tool of confirmation bias to support their predictions. They even did everything they could to sabotage SS and Medicare, but it is still alive and well.

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/o...19kristof.html