I've just given up on the idea that I'll be able to use it

A good start to fixing Social Security would be dropping the fraudsters on Social Security Disability--you know guys that can travel, hunt, trap, fish, garden, post on the internet all day but supposedly can't get a job.

And, don't just drop them--make them pay back the money they stole from honest hard working Americans.

This I can't understand, if you have underage children and you are over 65 yrs. old. Why do they get $800 and change a month? I have a very wealthy neighbor that decided to dump his old wife at 56 years of age and got married to an Hispanic woman that was 27 yrs. old. when he was 62, and they started having kids when he was 64. When he turned 65 his kids, that he chose to have, get Social Security until they turn 18. I live in a very wealthy ski town, and this neighbor is worth many millions, and his kids qualify for Social Security?

Me too, start dumping 25% of your gross pay into retirement accounts invested in the market. If you’re young enough it won’t matter what the state of social security is.

Replying to Wolfie

Wow. Does your new wife have to be Hispanic? I dont speak Spanish. Can your current wife still live with you after you divorce her? My current wife might go for that if I can find a young one that will do all the housework too.

PS can you put those kids on food stamps and medicare too?

This sounds like one of those old math questions.

You do realize that those are different programs with different funds?

I do. How does that change what I wrote?

Don't know

It doesn't as long as you are aware of it. Many to most people don't realize that OAS(retirement) and SSI(disability) are different programs and have different accounts.

The OP is asking about OAS not SSI.

That can go for other taxes too.

Interest? You think they sat on this money? They spent it. Rob Peter to pay Paul.

No problem with taxing social security incomes of the very wealthy.

Define very wealthy.

They freakin are! He's a retired CPA, shows no income from finance manipulation and has the kids enrolled in all the programs.

Who funds SSI (disability)?

People only pay Social Security taxes on the first $160,200 of their income. The rich don't have to contribute after they make that amount.

The tax payer does.

We should first explain the 3 programs. OAS is the retirement program, SSI is supplemental security income and SSDI is disability.

Funding for SSDI and OAS is through the FICA and self employment taxes. FICA is 13.4 percent of income to 160k or so. Of that 12.4 percent .9 percent goes into SSDI fund and the rest goes into OAS fund. Each fund has its own balance and each fund will go tits up eventually. Many people erroneously think that people on SSDI are draing the OAS fund. Not true. That doesn't mean the program is rigged with fraud.

SSI is funded through the general fund.

Nothing can fix OAS, it's been doomed to fail from the start

It has only been doomed since the Gov. started tapping into it for their own "special" projects.Goose that layed the golden egg,,except they killed the goose.