Social Security - your thoughts?

#102
#102
jmacvols1 said:
SS and Medicare are underfunded 175 trillion

scnr.com

Analyst Warns Social Security, Medicare Underfunded By $175.3 Trillion

Treasury Sec. Says Nation's Path Is 'not sustainable and must ultimately change'
scnr.com scnr.com

fox28savannah.com

Medicare and Social Security face $175 trillion shortfall, risking future generations

Medicare and Social Security are in big trouble as it is now underfunded by a staggering $175 trillion, according to a new report from the Treasury Department.
fox28savannah.com fox28savannah.com
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over the next 75 years.

I am not a fan of either, and want to see it gone, but that 175 trillion is kinda arbitrarily chosen.
 
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#103
#103
jmacvols1 said:
Your household owes 1.4 million dollars to clear up that 175 trillion.....pay up.

Many many people think they have a "legal right" to a SS check when they have no legal, contractual or property right to a SS check and they are about to find that out in about 9 years when their check gets slashed and they can do nothing about it.
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I'll bet you a billion VN bucks that that cut doesn't happen. I think it far more likely that they remove the cap on SSA earnings and tax you on every nickel you earn for it.
 
#104
#104
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#105
#105
jmacvols1 said:
looks like the current cap is 168,600.

www.pgpf.org

Should We Eliminate the Social Security Tax Cap? Here Are the Pros and Cons

There have been a number of proposals to increase, eliminate, or otherwise adjust the payroll tax cap as a way to shore up Social Security’s finances.
www.pgpf.org www.pgpf.org
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That's a long way from $400k. I'm about done paying into it, so I really don't care, but I want what was taken, with interest. I would have opted out a long time ago with zero repayment, but that was never an option. Now the .gov owes me.
 
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#106
#106
McDad said:
Math:
Ave weekly wage in US = $1200 per week (rounded).
% contributed to SS by employee and employer per paycheck = 12.4%
Ave amount per week going into SS = 150 (rounded)
Amount of money after 47 years of working if 150 per week was put into a very safe investment at 7% = 3M (rounded).
***This assumes a wage which never increases over time.
ave monthly SS check for those retiring at 65 = $1720 (rounded)
ave age of death in US = 73
1720 x (8 years x 12 months) = 165K

The ave earning power the benevolent government stole from the ave american worker = 2,830,000 (rounded)
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You're mixing employee and employer contributions, Ace. The average worker pays a FICA of 7.65%, of which 6.2 percent goes to SS--not 12.4.
6.2 percent of 1,200 is about $74.40

The average wage worker in America does not make 1,200 a week. At a 40-hour work week, that would come to $30 an hour. Uh, no.

I doubt most wage workers in America work 47 years before retiring. Less than that.

A "very safe" investment would yield about 5 percent annually, I think, not 7 percent.
 
#107
#107
turbovol said:
You're mixing employee and employer contributions, Ace. The average workers pays 6.2 percent into SS--not 12.4.
6.2 percent of 1,200 is about $74.40

The average wage worker in America does not make 1,200 a week. At a 40-hour work week, that would come to $30 an hour. Uh, no.

I doubt most wage workers in America work 47 years before retiring. Less than that.

A "very safe" investment would yield about 5 percent annually, I think, not 7 percent.
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You are certainly capable of googling to get the info. It's what I did.

Employer contributions are employee contributions. If you cannot understand that, I cannot help you. But for the sake of argument, if the employee put 6.2 percent and the employer "put" 6.2 percent the freaking math is still the same.

do better.
 
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#108
#108
turbovol said:
You're mixing employee and employer contributions, Ace. The average worker pays a FICA of 7.65%, of which 6.2 percent goes to SS--not 12.4.
6.2 percent of 1,200 is about $74.40

The average wage worker in America does not make 1,200 a week. At a 40-hour work week, that would come to $30 an hour. Uh, no.

I doubt most wage workers in America work 47 years before retiring. Less than that.

A "very safe" investment would yield about 5 percent annually, I think, not 7 percent.
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BLS has median wage of 1145/week. Not sure why you've peeled off "wage workers". 47 working years puts one at 65 which is the average retirement age in the US.
 
#109
#109
It's true that a lot of people pay money into Social Security that they don't fully recoup before dying. It's unfortunate, but then taxes are the price we pay for having a relatively well-functioning and cohesive society (even if, owing to the gangster and Russians it's been fraying around the edges).
 
#110
#110
turbovol said:
It's true that a lot of people pay money into Social Security that they don't fully recoup before dying. It's unfortunate, but then taxes are the price we pay for having a relatively well-functioning and cohesive society (even if, owing to the gangster and Russians it's been fraying around the edges).
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You think taxes and government is why we have a functioning society?
 
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#111
#111
turbovol said:
It's true that a lot of people pay money into Social Security that they don't fully recoup before dying. It's unfortunate, but then taxes are the price we pay for having a relatively well-functioning and cohesive society (even if, owing to the gangster and Russians it's been fraying around the edges).
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apology accepted.
 
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#112
#112
turbovol said:
It's true that a lot of people pay money into Social Security that they don't fully recoup before dying. It's unfortunate, but then taxes are the price we pay for having a relatively well-functioning and cohesive society (even if, owing to the gangster and Russians it's been fraying around the edges).
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Not surprised at all that you entangle the gangster and Russia into a social security thread.
 
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#115
#115
utvolpj said:
My dad didn't need it but took it asap. Said he wasn't guaranteed a specific # of years in life and didn't want the govt to keep it all.
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I get it - not a clear cut choice. Breakeven is somewhere in the late 70s so if you croak before then it's money on the table.
 
#121
#121
volinbham said:
As someone rapidly approaching SS eligibility, this insolvency stuff makes taking it early tempting.
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Choosing the best age to begin receiving ‘benefits’ is a very difficult choice. Starting at 62 isn’t a bad idea if benefits are expected to be slashed in a decade or for those in poor health. Holding off until 70 for the monthly payment to peak is a long way away. Plus how much could be accumulated in the 8 years and create a bucket of investment capital that would generate returns offsetting the LOWER monthly payments from NOT deferring? The returns on that accumulated sum could more than make up for the lower monthly payments in the future years.

If you drop dead (unmarried) before participating you get ZERO.

It won’t surprise me if the COVID vax shortens life expectancies or new viruses come along periodically to thin the herd.

I have no idea when to start taking payments.

One thing that I don’t understand is why they say that the participation age is being raised - I think it’s currently 66 and will soon be 67 (after being 65 for a long time). You can start at age 62. Maybe when they say that age to participate is being raised what it really means is that the benefits tables shift. The amount that they would have paid at age 65 (or 66) will be the amount to be paid at age 67 (for those at the tail end of the Bsby Boom).

BTW, after 62 you can start drawing at any month. You don’t have to wait for your next birthday to opt in,

I think that being a W-2 employee while drawing early SS is an important consideration in the formula because of taxes.
 
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#123
#123
hog88 said:
I don't know the rules, can you take it SS at 62/63 and still work or is there an income cap?
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You can start at 62 and receive lower monthly payments. A portion is also taxable for those tgat opt in early and continue working as a W-2 employee.

One thing that I didn’t realize until a couple of years ago. Employees that turn 65 save employers the expense of health insurance since they go on MediCare.
 
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