Quote:
Originally Posted by JoelJohnson
10,000 "baby boomers" turn 65 EVERY day! And will for a long time.
When SS was started, the avg life of a man was only 63!
To make SS last all they have to do is raise the full retirement age for anyone under 50 by a year or two.
The biggest problem is Medicare.
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Joel is correct as far as the average life span of a man (back in the initial days of Social Security).......but what if that man lived to age 91 and had no one to "take him in".............
We've heard many stories over the years, from old timers who lost their businesses and homes during the Great Depression era.......so back then, after the hopelessness of that era.........the simple thought of social security upon retirement must have been most welcome......
My Irish Scottish stepdad LOVED President Roosevelt......for how he helped folks back then.........
In 1995, when we became responsible for my widowed mom, she would receive her monthly "pension" check from the factory she went to work for when we were in elementary school, retiring at age 62......30 years or so later.
$59. a month. Maybe back in the early 1950's that seemed like a good thing to look forward to. Her s.s. check was very low as well.....about $700 or so a month with a few small increases.
Obviously, she was welcomed into our home and passed in 2003.
Had she not had children or a savings account.......believe me, no one could have lived on what she got monthly. The fact that they sold their home and moved into an apartment, did help.....then when he passed, she moved in with us.
Vermont is not an expensive state to live in as for the most part, people are pretty down to earth, many are rural, and most do not live beyond their means......but it still would have been a very low income, even for a single elderly lady. Her pension and s.s. check were from N.J. originally.
She made good wages when she worked...........but it didn't really keep up with the cost of living..........she actually made a "man's wages" and was part of a union.
Everyone's posts have been very valuable and really "food for thought" as we all age in place........