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Social Security taps into trust fund for first time in 36 years
Hmm...I thought any surplus was spent every year by congress. Remember "lock box"?
So anything in excess of trust fund amount was being spent by Congress?
Anyways, like I said, determined to adjust lifestyle with assumption SS will not exist when it is time for me to retire. Dunno how it is possible for anyone to fix it if we keep giving everyone tax cuts, and we have all these innovations in medicine without it making any diff to cost of healthcare of health insurance premiums.
Giving people back their money has nothing to do with this. And, this certainly doesn't have anything to do with healthcare. On second thought, maybe it does. The state of SS clearly indicates why we shouldn't send them our money.
The fix is alignment of interest. What if a congressional pension didn't exist and they had to depend on SS. They would find a way to make it sustainable.
I only mentioned healthcare because unless I'm mistaken, Medicare is in similar, maybe worse shape then SS.
In any case, are we sure we are discussing the same problem? I understand, when someone pays into a system all his life, he is expecting something in return. However, not having to pay SS, Medicare will hardly solve the problem. Like I said, I don't see cost of healthcare of health insurance premiums abating in spite of innovation I keep hearing about all the time.
The problem might be that the focus of society is more on making it easier, faster, cheaper to share d*** picks than actually reducing the COST of something. We keep trying to "find the money" to pay, but never look at how to make something cost less.
Hi @davidrmoran You noted: "Where is all this misinformation coming from? Fox?" Is this statement related to this thread from me or ??? I've been away most of the day and didn't attempt to verify the article. If the report is crap, then I will have the thread deleted. PLEASE be definitive to what or to whom you are noting your question. Thanks, Catch
If SS is your only resource in retirement than you failed retirement 101.
Do you deserve SS? Of course.
My Advice: Take it early and often...life is short. You do not gain anything by waiting until age 70 to collect SS and then dying before age 84. Collect early and let your personal retirement investments grow. You get all of those dollars back if you die early.
@BrianW...congress is full of millionaires...SS benefits are mere crumbs, but bird brains tend to be fond of crumbs.
@bee: I agree that if you're depending on SS you've already failed. But from the moment we started working we were required to pay into this. We should require them to fix it. It can be so much more than it is. Imagine if the money that was taken from you had been invested in the market, even a simplistic S&P 500 fund (not the way I would do it). Depending on your age, you would have lived through the crash of 87, dotcom, 2008, and you still may be a millionaire.
It seems to me that for some strange reason Congress wants SS to fail due to their inaction. Through the years there could have many fixes. But, know this, they robbed Peter to pay Paul and now it looks as though many who depend on SS will check up short (I mean shorter) as funds get depleted. I agree with BrianW, some of our SS dollars should have been invested in the stock market which is driven by the production of out great economy. A good strong economy equals good stock market returns as companies flourish making profit. I'm thinking that our government investing in US Treasuries alone was not the best answer. A better answer, for me, would have been a more balanced type approach consisting of my contribution dollars going into both stocks and bonds. This is what I've done with my own personal money and I have much more to show for it than I would have over going the Treasury alone investment route.
In a way our elected have acted by their inaction.
@Old_Skeet: I couldn't agree more. In many cases, we are divided by ideology (and they depend on this fact). But this is a problem which impacts us all. It can be fixed and as 'Old_Skeet' eluded, you have to wonder why they're doing nothing. There have been suggestions in the past designed to gradually move the program to a more sustainable structure. Had it been done, we may have been well on our way to fixing this. Will it be painful in the short-term, perhaps, but that is leadership.
>>>SS web site, regarding invested monies; being the excess portion of SS monies available. Two "plug in" areas are available to view some data; as well as other related links at the page.
If SS is your only resource in retirement than you failed retirement 101.
IMO we are too quick blaming individuals. Like every year an article telling individual investors they buy high and sell low. Life happens. People have to make decisions. What should be the retirement plan for median wage Amazon employee earning $28,500?
I have been through a period of my life as a kid, but old enough to understand, how miserable lack of money makes you. Around 3 years. I was lucky, because I'm not that good. My siblings were smart, but the fact I went to Grad school, some "friends" I had when I was a kids won't believe it if you tell them.
My point is, I want SS to work for those who need them. Thinking that way does not make me left-wing, communist, socialist, infidel, whatever. This is about math. Stop giving tax cuts to people who don't need them. Pursuit of happiness is not equal to keep getting richer.
The simple message from the trustees of Social Security and Medicare:
Yesterday, the trustees of our two big social insurance programs — Social Security and Medicare — released their annual reports on these programs’ current and future financial conditions. The headlines from the reports tend to focus on the shortfalls in the trust funds designed to ensure the payment of full benefits for both programs.
It is essential to understand what “depleted” means in the context of these trust funds. It does not mean that either program is broke and can’t pay benefits. Most of the funding for these insurance programs comes through payroll and income taxes levied on current incomes. Therefore, even if the trust funds go to zero, about three-quarters of Social Security and 90 percent of Medicare benefits will be financed by dedicated revenue.
These are efficiently run, essential programs that are highly popular for good reasons: They provide income and health security for those who have aged out of their working years, lost a breadwinner (survivors benefits), or become too disabled to sustain gainful employment. Such social insurance functions exist in every advanced economy, where, especially regarding income security, they are more generous than our versions.
Their pervasive existence across countries is no coincidence: They correct a market failure. There are no private-sector insurers who would guarantee pension and health coverage to aging Americans, regardless of their income. Of course, private insurers would offer such services for the wealthy, but they could not profitably do so for those of modest means.
Comments
So anything in excess of trust fund amount was being spent by Congress?
Anyways, like I said, determined to adjust lifestyle with assumption SS will not exist when it is time for me to retire. Dunno how it is possible for anyone to fix it if we keep giving everyone tax cuts, and we have all these innovations in medicine without it making any diff to cost of healthcare of health insurance premiums.
In any case, are we sure we are discussing the same problem? I understand, when someone pays into a system all his life, he is expecting something in return. However, not having to pay SS, Medicare will hardly solve the problem. Like I said, I don't see cost of healthcare of health insurance premiums abating in spite of innovation I keep hearing about all the time.
The problem might be that the focus of society is more on making it easier, faster, cheaper to share d*** picks than actually reducing the COST of something. We keep trying to "find the money" to pay, but never look at how to make something cost less.
@VintageFreak
>> Remember "lock box"?
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/08/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20110305
You noted: "Where is all this misinformation coming from? Fox?"
Is this statement related to this thread from me or ???
I've been away most of the day and didn't attempt to verify the article.
If the report is crap, then I will have the thread deleted.
PLEASE be definitive to what or to whom you are noting your question.
Thanks,
Catch
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/social-security-trust-fund-will-depleted-17-years-according-trustees-report. So now it is 16 years.
Do you deserve SS? Of course.
My Advice:
Take it early and often...life is short. You do not gain anything by waiting until age 70 to collect SS and then dying before age 84. Collect early and let your personal retirement investments grow. You get all of those dollars back if you die early.
@BrianW...congress is full of millionaires...SS benefits are mere crumbs, but bird brains tend to be fond of crumbs.
@VintageFreak......great point.
In a way our elected have acted by their inaction.
>>>The below link for an overview of SS from a stated nonpartisan position.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/policy-basics-understanding-the-social-security-trust-funds
>>>SS web site, regarding invested monies; being the excess portion of SS monies available. Two "plug in" areas are available to view some data; as well as other related links at the page.
https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/investheld.html
I have been through a period of my life as a kid, but old enough to understand, how miserable lack of money makes you. Around 3 years. I was lucky, because I'm not that good. My siblings were smart, but the fact I went to Grad school, some "friends" I had when I was a kids won't believe it if you tell them.
My point is, I want SS to work for those who need them. Thinking that way does not make me left-wing, communist, socialist, infidel, whatever. This is about math. Stop giving tax cuts to people who don't need them. Pursuit of happiness is not equal to keep getting richer.
The simple message from the trustees of Social Security and Medicare:
Yesterday, the trustees of our two big social insurance programs — Social Security and Medicare — released their annual reports on these programs’ current and future financial conditions. The headlines from the reports tend to focus on the shortfalls in the trust funds designed to ensure the payment of full benefits for both programs.
It is essential to understand what “depleted” means in the context of these trust funds. It does not mean that either program is broke and can’t pay benefits. Most of the funding for these insurance programs comes through payroll and income taxes levied on current incomes. Therefore, even if the trust funds go to zero, about three-quarters of Social Security and 90 percent of Medicare benefits will be financed by dedicated revenue.
These are efficiently run, essential programs that are highly popular for good reasons: They provide income and health security for those who have aged out of their working years, lost a breadwinner (survivors benefits), or become too disabled to sustain gainful employment. Such social insurance functions exist in every advanced economy, where, especially regarding income security, they are more generous than our versions.
Their pervasive existence across countries is no coincidence: They correct a market failure. There are no private-sector insurers who would guarantee pension and health coverage to aging Americans, regardless of their income. Of course, private insurers would offer such services for the wealthy, but they could not profitably do so for those of modest means.