Everything has gone up every year you can’t pay 1960 taxes and get a 2021 payout to live on. You need more in a 401K now then you did back in 1960 that is just common sense you cannot save pennies and expect big dollars back later on. Would you be successful paying in what you pay for SS tax and have enough saved that way in a 401K I doubt it.

It’s basically a forced 401 K that keeps everyone from paying for the irresponsible people that go through life blindly with no real plan, so make it a paying plan then. My generation paid in more dollar wise with the goal of a better retirement but that’s not working out at today’s prices,

Reminds me of the guy that won’t go to the Doctor because the office visit cost to much then buys a new gun later the same week it’s about priorities if we are talking self reliance it seems if everyone paid for their own retirement that would be a start.

Not until the money runs out will some be willing to pay more then it would be to late!

Right now we pay 13%. How much more should we pay?

You set that much aside every paycheck and you have enough at retirement to cover the costs of some other folks that never paid in. Money will work harder than us if given time. Somehow we lost the time?

A lot of people have lost monies in their investment portfolios over time and some recover well, some not so well and some not at all. Millions have invested heavily in residential real estate as a retirement plan and that has not always worked out well for them either. We don't know what the future has for all of us but I feel the SSI will not be gone by 2034, but there may be a change in the stipend amounts etc. For those that are not planning for the future it may be wise to spend a few hundred or a thousand with a financial planner that can look at what you earn and spend now, how long you plan to work what you have saved etc. and they can lay out what you will need for the roughly 20-30 years you and your spouse may be retired. You don't have to follow the advice at all but you will be made aware of what it may take and you can make your decisions knowing the impacts they may have on you and your family. It will help remove the ignorance, victim mode and put the responsibility where it should fall.

Bryce

Do you realize how long the fed has been printing money? That’s how our economy is run. Print enough to continue growing and try not to increase inflation. The system is crazy, but it’s the one we live in. The debt is never going to be paid

The fact remains, SS has not run out of money despite decades of predictions that it would.

I have paid more than my share of social security and Medicare taxes. As an employer I get to match employees deductions. I seriously doubt I'll ever get it all back. Just more wasted tax dollars by a bloated, corrupt government. It's good I never planned on relying on SS to see me through my senior years.

But again, I have no confidence in the long repeated predictions that SS will run dry.

The US Gubmint first started borrowing money in 1790 and has been broke ever since.

Take away SS from the ones that have paid in most of their lives would make Jan 6th look like a picnic. LOL Ending SS would domino into a array of new issues from pulling the rug out from the people depending on it.

Can you imagine the impact on some old person living in NY or some major urban area just getting by if you took it away?

About the same as putting sick people in a nursing home perhaps...

Pennies saved today. Turn into dollars of tomorrow. That is the power of wise investing. Social security tax’s an employee 6.5 percent. Your employer pays in the same amount. The problem is not enough tax. The problem is to much pay to those that should be working. Here is a good start. Instead of hiring more IRS agents. Let’s hire a team of welfare/ recipient enforcement. I would do it for free and charge 1 percent off the gross of what I recapture back. I can tell you for a fact. I can target 1000 people right now. Here is how they play the game. You are required to work to retain your benefits. You apply for a job with me. You go thru all pre employment thru me. Which I pay for. You sign that you accept job. We setup orientation. You are a no show. No way for me to report. It takes 6 months for Job and family services before you are checked on. You retain your benefits for 6 months. Another way. Married couple have children. Man works. Mother doesn’t. They watch there income. Stay under 35000.00. The mother and kids get free Medicaid. Food stamps. Wick. Heating assistance. Etc... I can go on and on. I started supervising people 35 yrs ago. I would see 1 out of 20 that fit this catagory. Now 5 out of 20. What is really sad is they boast about it. And I am suppose to except this??? I have higher expectations for our young. I was raised with high expectations. If your goal in life is for a hand out? Then you will have to learn to except what the working class is willing to give. I am not talking about retirees or disabled people. I am willing to give you a hand when needed. But when my hand out becomes a way of life for those that deliberately live off the system. That’s where I draw the line.

According to the government illegals contribute between 7-9 billion annually to the fund and unless they at some later date become legal and have their account transferred over to a legitimate SS# they do not collect a dime in benefits nor will they ever unless congress changes the laws.

Kind of reminds a guy of Obummercare people wanted cheaper insurance but are not willing to pay for it to get it. Your never going to get ahead paying 1960 rates and expecting 2021 payout the gap is too wide.

Go ahead! You should. They already have laws that you get 10% of the substantiated loss.

Worked fine for years until congress decided they wanted to barrow from it, then seen how much they could get away with !

After that congress decided to put it in the general fund so they did not have to make dances and excuses for taking from it !

Put it back where it belongs in its own fund not to be used for anything else, congress continues to pay what it owes to it and tighten down on people who game the system, don't be giving out to immigrants or illegals because you feel emotional about
their situation.

Those not wanting to put into, it they can have a choice to put into there own savings and provide proof of doing so every year on the tax report we all send in, if it does not meet a set minimum next to the SS they need to pay into their plan to avoid a penalty. If they are putting in more than the set standard, they can receive a cut on their taxes for doing so, you have to have an incentive created for people to be rewarded, or nothing goes anywhere in this country !

Those like 49'er who feel they should not be paying into it can be leaders in showing that they do their own retirement and not be penalized for doing it, then if theirs don't work either they won't have to feel bad about taking some one else's money because they will not be allowed to sign up for it !

Nothing is guaranteed with saving funds for the future, its all a legalized gambling bet, thats why there are so many life insurance agencies out there and so many people selling plans on retirement, every one knows they don't work, and everyone knows they should live on less than they make, problem is that everyone thinks it's not going to happen to them !!

Justin according to many you should pay whatever it takes.



Bryce, SS will not be gone by 2034, it won't ever go away entirely, but you know as well as I do once the trust fund runs out it won't be able to sustain itself. Your last sentence sums it up pretty well, I'll be eligible to draw in 11 years. I'll make the decision then and it will be my responsibility to see to it I have enough income to sustain myself. I will be planning for a lower payment than is promised. Most likely I'll work a few years beyond 62 and maybe even past 65.

cfowler, I agree 100 percent and your scenario of the dollar being destroyed will fix the issue of welfare.




In 1960 medium income was x, in 2021 it's 3 or 4x so even if rates don't change revenue goes up by 3 or 4x. The problem isn't the rates are too low, Boco hit the nail on the head a couple of pages ago, they assumed birth rates would remain the same but they actually declined. A lot! Ironically without all the legal and illegal immigration, the SS system would be in worse shape.

Lugnut I have never seen a prediction that SS will go broke or run completely out of money, just that it will be underfunded. A major problem is, it's not the only government entitlement program that is underfunded.

SS liabilities are 21 trillion, medicare 33 trillion. Total US unfunded liabilities are north of 150 trillion.

Saving for a rainy day is always better the waiting for it to rain.

Grit, I think that you can grasp that even if Congress hadn't borrowed from the plan is still going to be underfunded. The 2034 figure is taking into consideration that all the monies looted will have been paid back plus the interest it earns from the bonds it was given.

In opinion SS isn't going anywhere, the largest voting block in the country will see to that.

It is my opinion that it doesn't matter how much revenue the government takes from us, it will never be sufficient to satisfy the spending.

I also believe that no serious effort will ever be made to repair the current system. An eventual collapse will solve it for us.