Concerns about Social Security - Page 4

AARPMiller · ‎09-27-2011

1) In the article, Social Security Fears, many Social Security myths are addressed. What concerns you the most about Social Security?

RobertnChris · ‎08-07-2015

Where does the money go, from our younger folks, who have it taken out of their paychecks, but will not receive those benefits?

Baren · ‎07-29-2015

Why can't our government replace all the money the took from social security ?

All the money paid in by our parents and family that have died should be in there to help offset the future but our government keeps robbing it .

rj2201 · ‎07-15-2015

I believe US spend so much money playing big brother to the rest of the world that we neglect our own. Take some of those money packages we give to other countries and build up the social security system. Do not make retirees and others suffer because of cuts and or pay adjustments. Stop taxing social security, taxes are paid our whole life into the system.

sd57356169 · ‎07-09-2015

This is a nightmare situation. I was in. another state when this happened to me. I was traveling for my co. and spent no more than a few days to a week at most in a hotel. This was prior to internet, computers, etc. I don't remember how I resplved the situation at the time , I know it was Extremely difficult. Good luck.

grayhound · ‎07-08-2015

For at least 30 years the GAO and others have warned about the long term financial stability of Social Security. Recently the CBO has raised its concern. Meanwhile Congress has dhas not been serious about solving the problem. I think a person is a fool to rely on Socila Security or to trust Congress. I am not wealthy, but I am taking resposibility and using mutual funds for my financial needs. I started investing 22 years ago. I don't depend on Congress for anything. People need to be resposible and look out for number 1.

eddierayj · ‎07-03-2015

My biggest concern is the fact that they may reduce the amount of my monthly check. i have already read a few articles on the fact that this may come true. The articles go on to say that this is an issue that capital hill is already discussing. We cannot let this happen!! There are many more retired citizens that are deawing less than what I am and i know that this would devastate most of them. So, I ask; what can we do about it?

peachykeen8 · ‎05-29-2015

Because our CONGRESS has created incentives that shipped most USA jobs away from USA there are many less workers paying into the Social Security fund so there is alot less money going in!!.

This fact is one of the main reasons SS may have problems in the future.. THE SOLUTION!! CONGRESS must get off their ___________ and create incentives to bring manufacturing and other jobs back to the USA!!!!!

dm8830 · ‎06-28-2015

@peachykeen8 wrote:
Because our CONGRESS has created incentives that shipped most USA jobs away from USA there are many less workers paying into the Social Security fund so there is alot less money going in!!.

This fact is one of the main reasons SS may have problems in the future.. THE SOLUTION!! CONGRESS must get off their ___________ and create incentives to bring manufacturing and other jobs back to the USA!!!!!

Government revenues are at an all time high. It's not money coming in that's the problem, it's all the money going out.

Incentives to bring jobs back? That costs money which means higer taxes. Pay American wages? That means higher prices.

The only way the government can get out of the mess they've made is to inflate prices to where they SS checks are worth next to nothing. They've made a pretty good start on it the last few years. The FED publicly says that they want inflation and no one seems to worry about it or even ask why.

retiredtraveler · ‎05-30-2015

"....This fact is one of the main reasons SS may have problems in the future.. THE SOLUTION!! CONGRESS must get off their ___________ and create incentives to bring manufacturing and other jobs back to the USA!!!!!....".

And what kind of incentives could there be? In China, India, Honduras, people can be paid a couple of dollars an hour. That's why i see no solution. We can offer companies huge tax incentives (which takes money away from all of us), but we can't match $2 an hour wages. That is the biggest 'challenge' to a globalized economy.

"...Why is everyone a victim? Take personal responsibility for your life..."

lori65202 · ‎05-14-2015

I never see anything written about this dilemma. I will be 63 in July and my exhusband will be 55 in June. Because he is so much younger than me I guess this means I can't collect my 50% from him until I'm 75? I want to wait until I am 70 to collect my own but don't know if that is possible since the job I have right now is very shakey. If I was to lose my job now there is no way I can collect now at 63. I would have to do temporary work or something. I would only get enough SS to make my $800/mo. house payment. If I have to collect at 66 it is going to be very rough for me and I still can't collect anything from my ex. I have very little savings and am unable to save now. Is there any way out of this dilemma? I do plan to file for SS when I am 66 and then suspend it....if I can and am not out of work. Things look very dim for me and it doesn't seem right that I have to wait until I am 75 to collect from my ex (if his 50% is enough....he makes a lot more than I ever did).

GailL1 · ‎05-22-2015

@lori65202 wrote:
I never see anything written about this dilemma. I will be 63 in July and my exhusband will be 55 in June. Because he is so much younger than me I guess this means I can't collect my 50% from him until I'm 75? I want to wait until I am 70 to collect my own but don't know if that is possible since the job I have right now is very shakey. If I was to lose my job now there is no way I can collect now at 63. I would have to do temporary work or something. I would only get enough SS to make my $800/mo. house payment. If I have to collect at 66 it is going to be very rough for me and I still can't collect anything from my ex. I have very little savings and am unable to save now. Is there any way out of this dilemma? I do plan to file for SS when I am 66 and then suspend it....if I can and am not out of work. Things look very dim for me and it doesn't seem right that I have to wait until I am 75 to collect from my ex (if his 50% is enough....he makes a lot more than I ever did).

It does NOT appear that the spousal benefit will be beneficial to you at all with your ex- being that much younger than you. Eight years difference under the rules of Social Security, especially now when there are more scheduled changes to the full retirement age in the near future.

Starting with people born in 1955, the full retirement age will inch upward, rather than jumping right to 67. A person born in 1955 will have to be 66 and 2 months to be considered at full retirement age, while someone born in 1956 will have to be 66 and 4 months.

If I am calculating your ex-husband's birth year correctly, that gives him a 1960 birth year and if that is so . . . . his Full Retirement Age will be 67. If he decides to retire early, as far as I know, that early date is still at 62, then the spousal benefit would also be reduced; in fact alot since the full retirement age is getting higher and the early retirement age is staying the same.

In this event, Social Security just keeps paying out a lower and lower percentage based on the date of early retirement compared to the full retirement age.

So your own benefit at full retirement age, or later to 70 if you desire, might be higher considering this . . . .

If you already know that your cannot make it on what you would be getting if you began benefits at your full retirement age of 66, then perhaps it might be time to begin looking at reducing your expenses. Going into retirement with a mortgage is not the best of ideas since that is a very big expense -

As an aside, I am a proponent of the plan to report husband and wife's earnings on a shared 50/50 bases while working. In this way, both would be credited with an equal share of Social Security earnings, whether or not they both work.

Since marriage is a partnership, it seems just and it would simplify many of these antiquated Social Security rules - this file and suspend rule / spousal benefits when the older is the low earner, as well as that for any divorce that might happen down the road, no matter how many years the marriage last, each would have a 50/50 spit in the SS reported income during the years of the marriage and each would carry that through their lifetime adding more or none as life presents itself going forward.

Sorry couldn't help you with some Social Security revelation but it is what it is . . . . . .

It's Always Something . . . . Roseanna Roseannadanna

lori65202 · ‎05-15-2015

Am I not getting any reply to this?????

retiredtraveler · ‎05-15-2015

Tapping Your Ex for Social Security Benefits… and Making ...

Here is link that explains all possible scenarios.

"...Why is everyone a victim? Take personal responsibility for your life..."

lori65202 · ‎05-22-2015

This site tells me nothiing about my situation. I don't every see anything that tells me about my situation. Please someone just answer my question.

lori65202 · ‎05-22-2015

As usual NOTHING talks about the situation of your exhusband being eight years younger. Can't anyone answer this question????

kc2951 · ‎05-13-2015

Living on SSDI now for 10 years,which is the only source of income.To get any other help from any other programs is a joke,They put the minimum income at such a level that their is no way one can receive extra help.Would like to see washington live on what they send us monthly and see what they think then.No raise for 3 years,they say cost of living did not go up.I beg to differ.Groceries are alot higher,insurance higher,medical copays are higher this year.what gives Washington!!!!!!!!!!!

ma41669535 · ‎05-10-2015

I have been unable to find work other than $8-9/hour jobs - more if temp with no benefits - for over a year. I'm on something calls Old Age Pension that pays $771 per month, of which $600 per month goes to rent and utilities (not including the phone - no cable), leaving me $171 to pay for phone, car insurance, medical co-pays and everything else. I receive $117/month for food stamps.

I have been working since I was 17 years old to support myself except the years I worked in the home for which I have zeros on my social security statement. I was injured in a fall in December 2014 and am just able to work again, although there have been no follow ups on 99% of the jobs I have applied for or if I've been interviewed and tested by an agency, I rarely hear back from them.

Retiring at 70 is not an option. I am hoping to keep my head above water until August when I can start early retirement at 62 and afford to be able to take a part time, low wage job and purchase health insurance through AARP, although I won't be able to afford much (whatever I can afford can't be worse than Medicaid - another discussion altogether).

I think it is a luxury to be able to retire at 70 given the current state of the economy.

jg62045458 · ‎05-06-2015

My concern is the next generation and whether or not my children and grandchildren will be able to sustain SS benefits
while the costs will be substantially more expensive.

mwn560 · ‎05-06-2015

It's a very bad system, over the next 2 generations it should be gradually ended. Every 5 years you should be able to roll your 401k into an annunity, You pick your own retirement age, and have a life insurane policy for your family, some people will not need this, or have to pay for it. What pisses me off the most is I cannot use a stop loss on the funds in my company 401k. If The market crashes when I'm a few years from retiring, I want a stop loss on my money. I can do it in an IRA, I can do it in a Roth, 401K's (mutual funds) are already milking the crap of you, yet you can't set a stop loss. Wall street people are just stealing money, which for some reason is leagle, I can't buy gold in my 401K, that's not availible, untill they know it's about to crash again.All polititions have been so bought and sold over so many years. That's what it took to make SSI and the 401K in the first place, We are all really screwed. I'm thinking for young people they should forget the company match and just do a Roth. I wish that's what I should have done,

janus6990 · ‎04-21-2015

My friend's husband died at the age of 63, and he had accumulated Social Security. She never got any of it. Is this normal? (She was an elementary school teacher with STRS retirement. Does this mean she can't even partake of her husband's SS?) Jane Burnett

GailL1 · ‎04-21-2015

@janus6990 wrote:
My friend's husband died at the age of 63, and he had accumulated Social Security. She never got any of it. Is this normal? (She was an elementary school teacher with STRS retirement. Does this mean she can't even partake of her husband's SS?) Jane Burnett

As a widow in this situation, she is affected by the Social Security Government Pension Offset provision.

Here is a Social Security pamphlet on it. (2) pages and it explains everything about the provision.

Social Security Administration - Government Pension Offset

It's Always Something . . . . Roseanna Roseannadanna

lc79517314 · ‎04-21-2015

My concern is the proposed $15.00/hr. min. wage being reviewed by some cities/states. I worked from age 12 to age 65, the most I ever made was $20.00/ hr., which I earned, not legislated for. My job required knowledge in many fields, from HVAC to grounds maint. Now they want and un-skilled, High School drop out to be able to make a living flipping burgers.

As we all know our Social Security and retirement is based on our earnings and ability to contribute.

If this min. wage does go into affect, the cost of living WILL rise. Are we going to be able to legislate a subsantial increase in our Social Security Benefits. What about being able to re-negotiate the amount we were able to contribute to our 401K's and have someone "give" us the difference between what we were able to contribute and what we would have been able to contribute at $6.00-$8.00/ hr. more earnings when we were working. Being a Viet Nam Vet who is not recognized by the VA and initiatives such as this one which could hold catastrophic results for fixed incomes, I am starting to get the feeling that the Government does not want us around any more

SCAMOCARE · ‎04-28-2015

For lc795...

Right on!!! Of those of us that have worked all or lives and had money confiscated from our checks by our "representative" government it's a slap in the face. That money in our "accounts" is OURS!! I want it ALL back. I don't want it given to people who haven't earned it. Get that money from somewhere else.

dm8830 · ‎06-28-2015

Social Security isn't our money and never has been. They could end the whole thing tomorrow and there's nothing, legally, we can do. The Court ruled a long time ago on that. Everything we put in was taken right out and spent on other government programs without it even showing up as deficit spending or government debt. There's nothing in the "trust fund" but IOUs from the government to itself.

As long as more was coming in than was going out, it was a great ride. Now the bills are coming due. The deficit spending is now visible to the public. The total debt is growing by leaps and bounds. Not only is the government unable to grab all the "extra" money any more, but they have to start "paying back" those IOUs. The money just isn't there. Why do you think the government WANTS inflation?

I don't count on Social Security. Unfortunately that means I also don't see being able to retire any time soon and I'm already pushing 60 and in a wheelchair with a bunch of titanium holding my back together.

catla2sc · ‎04-21-2015

Why not require a pin (personal dentification number) for social security accounts?

It is required on credit cards and debit cards.

GailL1 · ‎04-23-2015

catla2sc wrote
Why not require a pin (personal dentification number) for social security accounts?
It is required on credit cards and debit cards.
___________________________________________________________

Actually, if you are trying to check your SS account online, you do have to go through a process of identity verification and then they will issue you a PIN to periodically check your account.

It's Always Something . . . . Roseanna Roseannadanna

bs4906 · ‎04-17-2015

You do not mention theillogical and immoral offset andso called double dipping legislations. These have deprived many honorable hardworking Americans of money to which they are absolutely entitled. My mother was allowed to receive her own well earned state pension plus my deceased father's social securtity thus enabling her to live comfortably in her old age. Her friends who retired only 2 years later were literally forced to choose between their own state pensions and their social security widows pension.

jedpac · ‎04-12-2015

The government will continue to shave the benefits. They will continue to use ss money for other things and not replenish it or will replenish it at the detriment of others....middle class and poor. It is about the haves and the have nots in every areana. Healthcare from medicare and medicaid is

being shaved to not provide the generalpublic with correct coverage. It is not right that we must fight to keep our benefits and that every chance the government gets they try to cut something.