[Garywt]

Originally Posted by Nucky

I'm in the same boat. I would spit chicklets to be able to be working at my old profession. I felt so much more useful. I've been out of action for nearly 8 years and have only recently grasped the concept that my working life is truly over. I'm stubborn, very stubborn and didn't want to give in to the idea of giving up.

My Doctor almost had a baby when he found out from a family member that I was still at my job almost 6 weeks after he told me I was risking paralysis if I didn't quit immediately. I got a visit from the Doctor at my home and he gave me a New Jersey Inspirational Speech in front of my wife and one son. Needless to say I call out sick the next day and that set off other alarms at my job because that had never happened before. Another home visit from my boss and sub-boss, his son. I tried to skate and didn't reveal to them what my Doctor had told me thinking that by some kind of miracle things might change. I felt like trash not being able to contribute to my family and to society.

After about 5 years of trying to figure this out on my own and all the while knowing I needed professional help I finally had the good fortune to speak with a Psychologist in The Village Health Care System. What a great person this Doctor was. She helped me to see that it wasn't my choice and that I should let myself off the hook so to speak.

I am grateful for the raise. It is always a good thing to have a couple more bucks in the kick. We were lucky to have some real estate to sell in $$ Jersey $$ before we got here to heaven on earth. 2.7%, 6.7%, 8.7% any of them are good for me. I'm not greedy. I'm living a better life here in Th Villages than I did when I was working around the clock to keep all the balls up in the air in N.J. As it turns out I think I'll stay grateful for everything and be happy with whoever is in power and just live my life and that's that! Life is good.

As far as the future SS benefits you know that at the last minute both parties will come together with the solution and things will roll along just as they are now. There will be no going backwards money wise for the American people. Especially since we are the ones who put the money into the program. We should be the ones drawing it out. I guess we'll have to stop helping other countries so much and concentrate on us. Maybe the Bigwigs should talk to that lady at The Villages Healthcare System. I'm sure she could help them to.

I hear you on this. When I was first sick my doctor encouraged me to work and I definitely wanted to be working. Fast forward 5 years and I was out sick for 7 months. I was weaker, my mind was gone and the job kind of passed me by. Talked to my doctor about retiring and he agreed 100%. I try to keep busy, need more time in The Villages but my wife is still working.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

It’s not Government funded, it’s funded by FICA taxes taken out of working peoples pay checks. If I didn’t have to pay FICA taxes my whole working career, and instead was able to keep and invest those funds I earned, I would have more money saved than I will ever get paid in Social Security checks.

Your right sorry for my error.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Caymus

Congress made a major change to the program in 1983 to keep it "solvent". What knowledge do you have that indicates they won't again?

At some point they have to but the longer they wait to do this the harder the change will be.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

The younger generation should have to pay none of our SS benefit. Had our contributions been wisely invested and kept in a secure fund with no opportunity to be raided for other purposes, there would be plenty of money to pay our benefits.

Your 100% correct that is how they should have handled the money. Instead they started with a system of full retirement at 65. However at that time few of us lived that long so people paid in and many got nothing back letting the funds in the system grow.

Now many of us are collecting and a smaller and smaller percentage of people working are supporting us making the system unstable.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Or increase the full retirement age to 75 or so. They should have done this awhile ago.

It was to be a govt funded pension system not a system of wealth transfer.

The way the system works is that low income workers receive more money in retirement than they contributed, and high income workers receive less money in retirement than they contributed. In that sense, it is a wealth transfer system. The Social Security system payout formula was designed that way and has always operated that way. Also, high income retirees are required to pay income tax on their benefits, but low income retirees receive their benefits tax free.

[NoMo50]

Social Security was never meant to be a direct income replacement for retirees. Kind of like how minimum wage jobs were never truly seen as a career path. I am for self sufficiency. Those of us who were fortunate enough to have worked for 50 or so years should have been responsible enough to plan for the eventuality we all face. Obviously, there are people who, through no fault of their own, were not able to do that. But, for the majority of folks in our age bracket, they should have been planning for their retirement a long time ago. No one will be able to enjoy a lifestyle they had during their working years on Social Security alone. It was never meant to work that way. If someone failed to adequately fund their own income stream for retirement, it's a little late to change it now.

At my retirement party from my previous, long time job, my boss asked me if I had any advice for a group of young new hires. He was thinking I might offer some tips related to the work. Instead, my advice was simple: Put money away every month until it hurts. Consider that money spent, and never touch it. You'll thank me in 30 years.

[tuccillo]

You can certainly debate whether the program should have been setup differently, for example a system where the money is actually in an account with your name attached vs. the pay as you go approach. However, to suggest that the money was raided doesn't tell the whole story. Money collected in excess of benefits paid (and subsequently spent to fund Government operations) was actually credited to the SS Trust Fund. This Trust Fund is invested in a special form of Government Treasuries and does earn a return each year. The Government is essentially prohibited from investing the excess FICA taxes in anything other than this special form of Government Treasuries. It's current value is just shy of $3 trillion. This $3 trillion in Treasures is just starting to be cashed in and the balance will go to zero over the next 12 years or so as benefits paid exceed FICA taxes collected. Once the SS Trust Fund is exhausted, benefits will be reduced by 20-25%. The cashing in of the SS Trust Fund will be funded by issuing new debt. Sigh ...The real problem is the Government chooses to spend more than they take in from taxes, of any kind. I believe the FICA tax rate should have been adjusted annually so that taxes coming in equals the benefits paid out rather than "collect" the excess in the SS Trust Fund, which is just a promise to issue more debt in the future. SS needs some adjustments, just as it did in the early 1980. The inability of Congress to address this issue is another serious problem. And so we go round and round ...

Originally Posted by eweissenbach

The younger generation should have to pay none of our SS benefit. Had our contributions been wisely invested and kept in a secure fund with no opportunity to be raided for other purposes, there would be plenty of money to pay our benefits.

[Caymus]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

You can certainly debate whether the program should have been setup differently, for example a system where the money is actually in an account with your name attached vs. the pay as you go approach. However, to suggest that the money was raided is a bit misleading. Money collected in excess of benefits paid (and subsequently spent to fund Government operations) was actually credited to the SS Trust Fund. This Trust Fund is invested in a special form of Government Treasuries and does earn a return each year. The Government is essentially prohibited from investing the excess FICA taxes in anything other than this special form of Government Treasuries. It's current value is just shy of $3 trillion. This $3 trillion in Treasures is just starting to be cashed in and the balance will go to zero over the next 12 years or so as benefits paid exceed FICA taxes collected. The cashing in of the SS Trust Fund will be funded by issuing new debt. Sigh ...The real problem is the Government chooses to spend more than they take in from taxes, of any kind. And so we go round and round ...

How much is paid in the form of SSI (AKA Crazy Checks)?

[tuccillo]

Google is your friend.

Monthly Statistical Snapshot, September 2022

Originally Posted by Caymus

How much is paid in the form of SSI (AKA Crazy Checks)?

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

It’s not Government funded, it’s funded by FICA taxes taken out of working peoples pay checks. If I didn’t have to pay FICA taxes my whole working career, and instead was able to keep and invest those funds I earned, I would have more money saved than I will ever get paid in Social Security checks.

and what if you had been hurt on the job in your 30’S or 40’s and could not work anymore or God forbid you died, the SSI would come in handy or the SS for your family if deceased. There are many on here that think everyone on SSI or Medicaid are faking or lazy , that couldn’t be farther from the truth , it a lifeline that with some bad luck could have landed all of us on one of these programs

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by tuccillo

You can certainly debate whether the program should have been setup differently, for example a system where the money is actually in an account with your name attached vs. the pay as you go approach. However, to suggest that the money was raided doesn't tell the whole story. Money collected in excess of benefits paid (and subsequently spent to fund Government operations) was actually credited to the SS Trust Fund. This Trust Fund is invested in a special form of Government Treasuries and does earn a return each year. The Government is essentially prohibited from investing the excess FICA taxes in anything other than this special form of Government Treasuries. It's current value is just shy of $3 trillion. This $3 trillion in Treasures is just starting to be cashed in and the balance will go to zero over the next 12 years or so as benefits paid exceed FICA taxes collected. Once the SS Trust Fund is exhausted, benefits will be reduced by 20-25%. The cashing in of the SS Trust Fund will be funded by issuing new debt. Sigh ...The real problem is the Government chooses to spend more than they take in from taxes, of any kind. I believe the FICA tax rate should have been adjusted annually so that taxes coming in equals the benefits paid out rather than "collect" the excess in the SS Trust Fund, which is just a promise to issue more debt in the future. SS needs some adjustments, just as it did in the early 1980. The inability of Congress to address this issue is another serious problem. And so we go round and round ...

very well said

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by charlieo1126@gmail.com

and what if you had been hurt on the job in your 30’S or 40’s and could not work anymore or God forbid you died, the SSI would come in handy or the SS for your family if deceased. There are many on here that think everyone on SSI or Medicaid are faking or lazy , that couldn’t be farther from the truth , it a lifeline that with some bad luck could have landed all of us on one of these programs

True that this is a great benefit when truly needed but if you had ever administrated long term disability claims, you would have a real eye opener. So many have the system figured out now.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Aces4

True that this is a great benefit when truly needed but if you had ever administrated long term disability claims, you would have a real eye opener. So many have the system figured out now.

Yes. Way too many bogus disability claims and other benefit claims are approved because a lot of Government employees in charge have the attitude that the Government has unlimited money to waste. There is no incentive to protect taxpayer money. One person I knew who worked in approving Government assistance told me that their motto was "when in doubt, shell it out".

[manaboutown]

Originally Posted by charlieo1126@gmail.com

and what if you had been hurt on the job in your 30’S or 40’s and could not work anymore or God forbid you died, the SSI would come in handy or the SS for your family if deceased. There are many on here that think everyone on SSI or Medicaid are faking or lazy , that couldn’t be farther from the truth , it a lifeline that with some bad luck could have landed all of us on one of these programs

Far, far too many SSI claims are faked.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by NoMo50

Social Security was never meant to be a direct income replacement for retirees. Kind of like how minimum wage jobs were never truly seen as a career path. I am for self sufficiency. Those of us who were fortunate enough to have worked for 50 or so years should have been responsible enough to plan for the eventuality we all face. Obviously, there are people who, through no fault of their own, were not able to do that. But, for the majority of folks in our age bracket, they should have been planning for their retirement a long time ago. No one will be able to enjoy a lifestyle they had during their working years on Social Security alone. It was never meant to work that way. If someone failed to adequately fund their own income stream for retirement, it's a little late to change it now.

At my retirement party from my previous, long time job, my boss asked me if I had any advice for a group of young new hires. He was thinking I might offer some tips related to the work. Instead, my advice was simple: Put money away every month until it hurts. Consider that money spent, and never touch it. You'll thank me in 30 years.

Mostly useless advice now that "entry level" (not minimum) wages haven't kept up with the rate of inflation. When I went to college back in the early 1980's, I had a studio apartment on Charles Street, the foot of Beacon Hill in Boston. I paid $375/month including heat and hot water. I didn't have cable TV and in fact, had an old black and white that I picked up off the side of the road that a college student had thrown away the year before. I was earning $4.00/hour at two part-time jobs, and averaging $10/hour playing guitar in the subway system as a busker.

I was also a full time student. I managed to save some money and blew it all on stupid college-student crap.

That same apartment was available for rent in the past couple of years. It was well over $2000/month. Minimum wage hasn't gone up proportionately, but it's still considered appropriate for students. Except now you have to be in a very wealthy family to afford that apartment as a student. It has an updated bathroom now but is mostly the same as it was. The basement apartment is now for rent - it's 120 Charles Street unit 2 if you want to look it up. I had unit 1 on the main floor, which was similar but a bit smaller, with no access to the "courtyard" (which was really just a walled-in concrete slab big enough for a lounge chair and a potted plant).

People who can save up, are people who are earning more than they need to live already, or people who come from families who can afford to help them with expenses until they're able to save up. People who think everyone can "just" do that - are thinking in terms of how it used to be - and not how it is now.