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.
Anyone who understands demographics and statistics can see the present system is unsustainable. People live much longer today than they did when SS was first implemented. We also have gone from one retiree for every 10 workers to one retiree for every two or three workers. Just like a Ponzi scheme, eventually the system will collapse. It's just a matter of time. It's just that many of us thought it would collapse sooner, rather than later.
The program itself is not static. If SS had never been modified from its original form, indeed it would have imploded long ago. It's been changed many times, and no doubt we will continue to see more changes. Yes they will mostly be unpleasant changes in the form of lesser benefits, higher retirement ages, and/or higher withholding percentages. But it's hardly an inevitability that it will collapse.
Only a small elite of people in America who are retired could survive financially in retirement without Social Security checks coming in every month. I hope you know that.
Only a small elite of people in America who are retired could survive financially in retirement without Social Security checks coming in every month. I hope you know that.
That's not true. 1 in 20 households have 1,000,000.00 in investments and cash. Being a millionaire is pretty common.
Don't know if I would call 5% elite, and it certainly is possible to live without SS if one has a pension and less than a million saved. That might only make it 15%, which while still too small, is certainly not elite. Planning for and including SS is far from being able to survive without it.
My observation has been that many people do not really 'plan' a great deal for their future. They struggle to live day by day, week by week.
How many people have a written monthly budget? Very few.
I used to teach budgeting and tax planning.
You have to learn to control your budget before you can control your taxes.
Tax planning is just a one year thing. One year at a time. How many people know in February, what their income tax obligation will be in December? Some of us know it, but very few.
Now stretch that out to 20 or 30 years? No, I really do not think that very many people can focus to 'plan' their retirement.
We knew that we would be fine on my military pension. But the specifics? No.
I know a lot of people who do okay on their SS, but it is not due to their planning. They are accustomed to living paycheck to paycheck. Looks like the average SS monthly income is $1400/month. So clearly if you have $1400/month from some other source then you really do not need SS in your budget.
Social Security was THE factor in planning for my retirement. I've mentioned in other posts, I was in my very early 20's when I was called for jury duty in Queens NY. While we sat in the huge jury pool room they had a guy come in and explain the changes being made and I was told my FRA would be 66 y 10months!!! I knew I didn't want to work until I was almost 67 and only receive SS. So I decided to take advantage of my employer's tuition plan and went back to school for something more in demand. After a couple of years of keeping my eyes open a I applied for a job with another company with a really good pension and matched 401k plan. They also sent me to grad school and paid for my certifications etc. Planning on retiring in 4 years and feel fairly confident. I have some guy from the Queens Social Security office scaring the heck out of me to thank for it
The program itself is not static. If SS had never been modified from its original form, indeed it would have imploded long ago. It's been changed many times, and no doubt we will continue to see more changes. Yes they will mostly be unpleasant changes in the form of lesser benefits, higher retirement ages, and/or higher withholding percentages. But it's hardly an inevitability that it will collapse.
They are stop-gap measures that will just delay the inevitable. Social Security, like any government pension plan, will collapse at some point. Unfettered immigration from third world countries will only hasten the process, as they tend to suck way more out of the system than they contribute.
we find billions to fund wars at the drop of a hat . social security is such an important part of american culture it would be it is funded at the 11th hour just fine .
everything gets funded at the last minute ,we see this over and over .
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.
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.
