[blueash]

What people seem to forget, and nobody has mentioned, is that your SS contributions do not just go for old age benefits. You have been given disability coverage, not just for yourself but for your family. Disability insurance is very expensive and you have to include that benefit in your thinking. Yes, it is not as generous as private insurance as it requires inability to work for at least a year, but it covers so many problems both physical and psychiatric. It also covers special needs children. So you've had many thousands of dollars in benefits all through your working years which hopefully you and your loved ones never needed to claim.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Nope.

According to the AARP calculator, someone my age, never married (because I didn't want the calculator to count anyone else's income in this experiment), who earns $100,000, can expect approximately $2848/month when they reach full retirement age.

In order to reach that $3148/month (maximum you can possibly get at full retirement age, from your own earnings) you would need to have worked for more than 30 years at over $100,000 per year. In fact, you'd need to have earned more than $200,000 per year.

But $200,000 per year is more than $100,000 per year, and I said it had to be more than $100,000 per year.

So - yup.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

According to the AARP calculator, someone my age, never married (because I didn't want the calculator to count anyone else's income in this experiment), who earns $100,000, can expect approximately $2848/month when they reach full retirement age.

In order to reach that $3148/month (maximum you can possibly get at full retirement age, from your own earnings) you would need to have worked for more than 30 years at over $100,000 per year. In fact, you'd need to have earned more than $200,000 per year.

But $200,000 per year is more than $100,000 per year, and I said it had to be more than $100,000 per year.

So - yup.

"I read it, so it must be true"..................nope!!!

In the '90's, SS max'd out in the $50k to $70k range...........it did not good to make over $100,000. Thru 2007, the max was less than $100k.

Don't believe everything you are told, facts are better.

[biker1]

Wrong. The maximum social security benefit will come from 35 years of earning the salary cap (that is taxed). The cap, or “benefit base” in SSA lingo, is $142,800 for 2021, well below $200K. Income in excess of the cap is not taxed and does not increase your SS benefit. The cap was $48,000 is 1989. Here is a table of the cap:

Contribution and Benefit Base

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

According to the AARP calculator, someone my age, never married (because I didn't want the calculator to count anyone else's income in this experiment), who earns $100,000, can expect approximately $2848/month when they reach full retirement age.

In order to reach that $3148/month (maximum you can possibly get at full retirement age, from your own earnings) you would need to have worked for more than 30 years at over $100,000 per year. In fact, you'd need to have earned more than $200,000 per year.

But $200,000 per year is more than $100,000 per year, and I said it had to be more than $100,000 per year.

So - yup.

[dewilson58]

...

[M2inOR]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

Many folks pay more than $148/mo. Some are paying an additional $504.90/mo.

The dreaded IRMAA!

If only all those who are advocating for "Medicare for All" understood that Medicare premiums must be paid monthly.

For some reason, they think Medicare is free! They have no idea!

[jdulej]

Originally Posted by M2inOR

The dreaded IRMAA!

If only all those who are advocating for "Medicare for All" understood that Medicare premiums must be paid monthly.

For some reason, they think Medicare is free! They have no idea!

I think most people understand that nothing is free and have no issue with paying that fee. My better half is not yet old enough for Medicare, so we pay $900/month for "okay" insurance with a yearly max OOP of $8500 (on top of the premium). And if you need specialist care, you better hope it's in network.
The economies of scale that Medicare for all could offer are huge.

[M2inOR]

For Medicare most have no problem with the monthly fee for Part B, D, or Medical coverage.

Certainly reasonable, but if not, each state usually has a program for low income Medicare eligible recipients.

The challenge is the co-pays and other out-of-pocket fees to pay for needed services. Recently I heard from one person who could not afford the co-pays for her needed physical therapy.

One must shop carefully today as there are many, many options to choose from. Organizations like SHINE can help people better understand the differences.

Europe does have comprehensive medical coverage for it's residents. Each country offers healthcare at low-cost. But even with that, I encountered many people flying to the US and/or Southeast Asia to get medical procedures done. Why? The wait list were long in their home country.

In Europe, many large companies still provide private medical insurance to some employees so they are taken care of better than what the national healthcare programs can offer.

It certainly is a complex topic to deal with. Explaining the pros and cons would detract from the simple mantra of what Medicare for All implies.