Allow SS to Invest in the Stock Market? (bonds, fund, trust)
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Allowing SS to invest in the stock market instead of just buying treasuries should increase the overall returns and at least partially cover the funding shortfalls. However, my question is what happens in an extended downturn (recession/depression)?
Given there's no real social security "trust fund" and social security is basically paid out from general revenue, there's not really any money technically there to invest in the first place. It's all just promises to pay, rather than account balances.
Given there's no real social security "trust fund" and social security is basically paid out from general revenue, there's not really any money technically there to invest in the first place. It's all just promises to pay, rather than account balances.
this is total nonsense.
ss funds have never been co mingled with general funds …
ss funds can only go for ss retirement , ssdi or ss survivor .
any excess can only by special treasury bonds that pay a higher rate then the ones the rest of the world buys .
ss never comes out of general funds.
all treasuries bought have always paid principal and interest when due.
this co mingling is a myth and comes from when johnson wanted the balance sheet to look better so he could get war funding so he listed the ss excess with the general funds , but the money has always been segregated
Last edited by mathjak107; 08-05-2023 at 08:31 AM..
Given there's no real social security "trust fund" and social security is basically paid out from general revenue, there's not really any money technically there to invest in the first place. It's all just promises to pay, rather than account balances.
You literally have no idea what you are taking about.
Allowing SS to invest in the stock market instead of just buying treasuries should increase the overall returns and at least partially cover the funding shortfalls. However, my question is what happens in an extended downturn (recession/depression)?
What do you think about this?
SS isn’t about return optimization and investing in publicly traded companies isn’t an option and shouldn’t be. There also should not be a self directed option either
most individual investors do terrible ,especially left to their own control of the money .
fear , greed and emotions cause them to lag and the more volatile the markets are the worse as a group they lag .
the whole idea of an insurance program like ss is to be there in a 1929 collapse for retirees
With the 2008 crash, SS beneficiaries did not lose one dime. SS has to remain as risk free as possible, so it makes no sense to expose it to the vagaries of the stock markets.
I think Social Security (as implemented) is a dumb idea to begin with. Its a perfect example of a government program gone bad.
While it is true the excess money collected through the tax are held in bonds, the borrower side of those bonds is our dear uncle sam who spends like a drunken sailor and is rapidly approaching an unmanageable debt level.
Other countries handle this much better. They should have long long ago directed those taxes into individual retirement accounts that have directed investments into broad markets. Accounts that don't simply vanish when one passes but instead are property of the individual and are an inheritable asset.
I have planned my retirement without considering Social Security. If I get it, then it will just be the cherry on top to go have a little extra fun.
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