[GoRedSox!]

Originally Posted by Jayhawk

If Social Security was a true Entitlement, everyone would get it at a certain point. But as most know, unless you paid into it and have enough quarterly credits or collect on the earnings of a spouse, you do not get it.

8 Types of Americans Who Aren’t Eligible to Get Social Security

I think this is correct, it is improperly characterized as an entitlement. We all paid into Social Security our entire working lives, and our employers matched that contribution. For most of my career, 12.4% of my salary was paid into Social Security.

In my opinion, the most unfair aspect of Social Security for beneficiaries is that the income limits to determine what portion of your benefits are subject to federal income tax are not indexed to inflation. For the first 50 years of Social Security from 1935-84, Social Security benefits were not taxed at all. When Reagan "saved" Social Security in the mid-80's, benefits became taxable for the first time. However, in 1984, only 8% of recipients exceeded the limits and were taxed. Today, that percentage is approaching 60% and either 50% or 85% of their benefits are subject to federal income tax. The limits have not changed in 40 years. Here is what they are:

Single under $25,000 or Couple under $32,000 - benefits are not taxable
Single between $25-34,000 or Couple between $32-44,000 - 50% of your benefit is taxable
Over these amounts, 85% of your benefit is taxable.
When computing your income for these limits, the formula is modified adjusted gross income + 1/2 of your Social Security benefit.

These limits really should be updated, most everything else in the tax code is including standard deductions and tax brackets. I will not be holding my breath waiting for this, and I guess we should just hope they fix Social Security before the trust fund is unable to continuing paying full benefits somewhere around 10 years from now.