Social Security trust funds now projected to run out of money sooner than expected due to Covid

many can't do it on the pay they get, that is the reality of it

no one ever said you have to be rich to save, you just can't be poor

and if they get sick, lose their jobs, they have to use up whatever having they do have before they can get any help

 

stopping masks, caused many not to go out... that did not help ease fears

"His reopen guidelines?"

https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/openingamerica/

https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.go...ening-Up-America-Again.pdf?mod=article_inline

 

excessive foreign outsourcing and excessive foreign imports is not helping

every good job sent overseas is less people here with good jobs

 

The first thing that needs to be done is to STOP all payments to anyone except where the recipient has a VALID, LEGITIMATE claim to Social Security benefits -- particularly in the massively fraudulent area of 'Disability'. Every single case involving 'Disability' needs to be gone through at the microscopic level, and where there's no real justification for money to be given to those claimants, the handouts should stop IMMEDIATELY....

Periodic reviews should be scheduled every few months to ensure that the claimed inability to support oneself is still valid. Only AFTER getting fraudsters, slackers, and other varieties of parasite OFF the benefits list can we even begin to have an accurate understanding of what kind of shape Social Security is in for those who 'played by the rules', complied with the laws, and EARNED their benefits....

 

Some of the best savers I knew were poor people. I knew an old man that went on a daily walk and picked up whatever change he found on that walk. He started doing this for his first grandson and by the time he was 18 he had 16 thousand dollars to give him.

I also know a guy that puts a certain percentage of his pay check into Robinhood as a retirement. He’s a low paid individual and I will be curious to know how this works for him a few years down the road. You can be poor and save. It may mean less bar nights, or less eating out, or less crack for all I know but you can always save

 

Sounds like you want current workers to bear the cost of a broken system. The problem is the boomer generation was by it own name huge. They paid money 6.2% into a trust fund expected to received a certain amount when they retire. They elected governments that choose who received payouts from social security. None of this was hidden. The ponzi scheme relied on new workers to paying into the system to support 85% or so of the payments. Unfortunately the current workforce cannot afford to do it based on their payment amounts. Why should they pay higher taxes to support mistakes made by the generations before them? They should only have to pay more if they want to ensure they receive the full payment when they retire. Not to ensure retired people, (who won't have to pay the higher tax), now get their full amounts.

My opinion is simple. You paid into the system. You supported how it was handled by electing governments for the last 80 years or so SS has been around. You know who was receiving payments. (Way more than people who retired) You live with what you have in your fund. Don't expect others to fix your mistakes by paying higher taxes now. This is like people that want tax payers to pay off student loans. They knew what they were getting into when they took out the loans. Don't expect others to fix it by paying higher taxes for you.

 

that doesn't last long in retirement is the point, that kinda savings is in a whole other ballpark, better hope one doesn't live to 100 with only 16k saved up and no social security

16k in the bank and welfare is not an option

 

Disgusting people these days if children won't care for their parents in their "old age".

Also, if they weren't paying into social security, they would have more money to set aside.

 

welcome to the world republicans envision, where the elderly can't financially care for themselves anymore

raise the income caps, it's simple, save social security

 

yeah, heard that before, if both parents were working they would have more money

it works at first, but then everyone raises prices for rent, utilities, ect..... then your back where you were

 

Yeah well that doesn't address the the coming Social Security crisis, but yes obviously only people who actually qualify for the program should benefit from it.

 

Well we clearly have a different view of this. Unlike Student Loans, workers, both past and present, had no choice about participating in the program. They also had no choice on how it was set up and this system has always depended on current workers paying retirees. You act as if that is some new outrage but that's the basis of the system whether it's a good idea or not.

 

So what you are saying is the retirees are saying it was not our fault. It was the fault of the governments, (we elected), and now they want governments to raise the taxes on workers to ensure they fix the problem they caused. The best part is the don't have to pay the higher taxes but they are the group that will benefit from it. Tell me do you think the government will lower the tax once the impact of covid has faded and the boomer generations dies off. My guess is no one will lower the tax and they will simply raise the number of people who qualify for SS payouts.

 

Paying more now to ensure that they receive the full payment when they retire is a good reason. For younger working people, this is your Social Security too.

And …

The vast majority of retirees on Social Security return those payments right back into the economy. Anyone who works by making a product or providing a service is actually being paid in part by retirees on Social Security.

And …

If we cut their payments by 30%, and they can no longer pay for the necessities of life (housing, utilities, food, etc), then who picks up the slack? People are not going to let gramma and grampa or their parents become homeless or go hungry. So if they’re lucky, their children will take care of their needs. Are we prepared to do that?

We would also see a lot of seniors simply not retire, opting instead to work until they die. Is that acceptable?

And … Many seniors did save for retirement, but they planned for Social Security to supplement their savings for a sustainable retirement. They paid their taxes during their working years, and they were promised that they would receive those funds to help them through retirement. Shall we now break that promise? Is that who we are?

So it’s worthwhile to look at more than just increased tax rates when thinking about this. There’s a bigger picture than that.

Seth

 

That 16k was obviously saved for his grandson not for retirement. It’s goes as proof that pennies make dollars. Poor people can save for retirement as well. Those who do will do, those who don’t will always make excuses.

 

Sorry, in my opinion SS is a ponzi scheme. The ability to pay is not tied to what was saved but what the current work force is paying into the system. The reason why it cannot support itself is because way more money was paid out than collected and it was not paid to people they contributed and then retired. It is paid to spouses that never worked, people collecting disability etc...

You are asking the current workers to pay more not to ensure their future because that will be dependent on the workforce when they retire but to compensate for the short comings of the current group collecting SS. To be honest if the future workforce grows rather than contracts there is a good chance that the current amount is enough to pay them out when they retire. The bigger problem is paying those that did not contribute a fair share.

I am not denying there are no problems with cutting payments by 30%, but to tax the current workforce more for the benefit of this group through SS is wrong. The higher FICA tax they are paying will go to paying the shortfall. The people that benefit do not even have to pay the tax.

I think the problem cannot be fixed with SS because that is the cause of the problem. Programs like welfare should be used instead, because it is a stop gap measure. Welfare comes from all tax payers, including those that are retired, not just the current work force. If this is a societal problem everyone should contribute not just the workers. Wealthy retired people collecting monies from investment or pensions can be part of the solution too. If we raise the FICA tax just for this crisis no one will lower it again once the boomers and the impact of covid is over. Once government get more taxes they will find ways to spend it. More groups will qualify for SS etc...

Everyone needs to live with the consequences of their choice. I said this before the SS system is transparent. Everyone knows how much is being received and how the payouts work. You see the trends in the size of the workforce. You see who receives payouts. You see the average of 2.5% growth in the trust fund. AND most importantly you elect governments that manages this program.

We see outrage for transgender athletes and demand government fixes it. We see outrage at CRT being taught in school. We see outrage at police. Where is the outrage when government screws up important policies that impact everyone? No one demands politicians that runs on policies to fix the problem because that would have meant higher taxes and less recipients during their careers. Instead they want others to fix it for them when now they no longer have to pay for it. You want a retirement savings plan based on a ponzi scheme you live with the consequences.

 

What I said is that after (AFTER) we get all the fraud-artists, slackers, and parasites totally off of unearned, undeserved Social Security payouts, then we can turn to other matters that directly affect the entire system. But that's only the beginning....

 

It may be, as you say, a 'Ponzi scheme', but workers in the U. S. are FORCED by law to pay into Social Security or else become criminals who can be arrested and thrown in prison. That's been the way it is since Frankie Roosevelt and his liberal Democrats rolled out the Social Security system almost NINETY YEARS AGO!

Any politician who tries to cheat us out of any part of our benefits after we've been forced to pay into it all our working lives is committing political SUICIDE!

 

yep, which means he is older if his grandson is 18, how much can he save by retirement

 

I have no problem with paying out what is in the trust. What people are asking for is that current workers pay more taxes in order to ensure those collecting get their full amount.

You can't have it both ways. You paid into a program and you had no issues with the payout system. You had no problems with spouses who never worked a day getting 50% of what their working spouse gets. (Why don't my investments work that way?) You have no problems with people who claim disabilities receiving payments. Now you find the program is underfunded and you want other working taxpayers to pay higher taxes for you while those that are collecting pay nothing more. What exactly did they do wrong to deserve higher taxes? The problem is the politicians who cheated you were voted in by you and your generation years ago. Hold them responsible. Don't expect others to fix your mistakes. You guys shaped the workforce. You did not replace the massive exodus for retirement. Your generation reaped the benefits of the program that either spent foolishly or was under funded. How is that the problem of millennials or gen Z now? Do you feel these people cheated you and they deserve to pay more?

 

He saved for his retirement as well. In fact he retired quite nicely and his drug addict grand kids still took advantage of him ever chance they got till he died.

 

You must live in some very conservative area. In most progressive areas, what you are even suggesting sounds very old-fashioned.

In fact, in most progressive areas, it's the parents who are in a better financial position, since they already own their own house. Meanwhile it's the younger generation who struggles to afford rent and can't afford to live anywhere, or 50-60% of their income is going towards paying rent.

 

Yes and now these same boomers are asking to raise FICA tax rates to 7 or 8% or more to ensure they receive their full payments they spent a lifetime under funding. Then they will turn around and complain about inflation when businesses need to raise prices to match the increase. I think boomers are the most "karen" generation of them all.

 

Hey, if they want to change the system tomorrow -- effective tomorrow -- for people who are still paying into the system, that's fine with me.

BUT, nothing must change for all of us who complied with the laws, and paid into SS and Medicare, 'full stroke', with no deviations and no exceptions!

Again, we played by the rules while PAYING all our lives... now, under no circumstances can any slimebag politicians change the rules on people who have already fully retired and are finally RECEIVING their earned benefits....

 

You agreed to pay into a SS system by electing the officials that ran it into the ground. It is now running out of money because you did not put in enough or was over promised. Now what people are proposing is instead of holding those accountable you raise taxes on the people paying now that had nothing to do with your screw ups. Why did you not do something about it earlier? Why not elect people that fixed the problem? Why have that new workers entering the workforce now bail you out when you and your generation screwed up. Is it their fault your SS program was a failure? As @kazenatsu pointed out many are already paying 50-60% of their income towards rent. Inflation is already high. You want to raise taxes on them so even more of their income goes to the government. You want businesses to raise cost to cover the extra percent they need to match.