Share your concerns about Social Security

[AARPMiller]

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

[GailL1]

@r522470d 

The part paid into the system by your employer as a match to your contribution wasn't taxed -  so just think of it as paying tax on that amount.

Whatever taxes you may pay on your benefit goes back into the SS Trust Fund and helps it to continue.

I don't understand your question on "cost of living".

[judithm382481]

• I would like to know if AARP is fighting for seniors on these topics that are important to us.

[BouzianiB939798]

Iam new to make sociale sécurité

[ag9870]

Well, I'm getting a $10.00 increase in 2016, a definate "inequity of passing out increases". Certainly not anywhere near an appropriatle annual increase.

[judyz68]

US Congressmen have not received pay increases for at least the last 3 years that I know of and the last one was rejected as well. Gasoline costs are partly due to refined fossil fuels being our #1 export, which keeps supply low despite low demand and also speculation by bankers, etc. who have no interest in taking possession of the commodity for their use. This is called the CFTA and was passed into law around 2000-2001. We are probably paying 1.50 more per gallon then we otherwise would be and that also drives up the costs of all other consumer goods.

[judygram]

instead of using the surplus Social Security revenue to buy good bonds in the open market, the government chose to spend the money and issue IOUs to replace the spent money.*** These IOUs are non-marketable and could not be sold to anyone, even for a penny on the dollar. The government has the legal authority to declare these IOUs null and void.

The Social Security trust fund does not hold any real economic assets that can be drawn down to pay future benefits. That is an indisputable fact today, and it has been true ever since the 1983 payroll tax hike was enacted. Every dollar of the $2.5 trillion in surplus revenue, generated by the payroll tax hike, has been spent on programs unrelated to Social Security, leaving nothing to save or invest.

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn warns. “We have stolen $2.6 trillion from it. We put paper money in there. The problem is, we spent the money – we didn’t just take it, we took it and spent it,”

Obama knows this and just keeps borrowing to spend even more. 17 trillion. Hillary is just more of the same. We the voters seem powerless. We must vote the Progressive Democrats out in 2016.

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@Powderhorn63 wrote:
I am new to receiving Social Security.  Last week I went to the grocery store and bought staples, many of which were not previously prepared foods.  When I arrived home, I went to my files and checked the same 19 items that I purchased this time last year and found that I had paid 30% more this year than last for the same items.  Gasoline has increased almost double (average) in the last 12 months.  Most federal employees, including US Congressmen, have received cost of living increases.  Some in the amount of 16% increase in one year, as per the US News reported on television.  I have been told that the Social Security recipients have NOT received even a cost of living increase for at least three years (as per local recipients). 

Is there a chance that this inequity of passing out increases will be addressed?  And When?

Jack V. Smith

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instead of using the surplus Social Security revenue to buy good bonds in the open market, the government chose to spend the money and issue IOUs to replace the spent money.*** These IOUs are non-marketable and could not be sold to anyone, even for a penny on the dollar. The government has the legal authority to declare these IOUs null and void.

The Social Security trust fund does not hold any real economic assets that can be drawn down to pay future benefits. That is an indisputable fact today, and it has been true ever since the 1983 payroll tax hike was enacted. Every dollar of the $2.5 trillion in surplus revenue, generated by the payroll tax hike, has been spent on programs unrelated to Social Security, leaving nothing to save or invest.

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn warns. “We have stolen $2.6 trillion from it. We put paper money in there. The problem is, we spent the money – we didn’t just take it, we took it and spent it,”

Obama knows this and just keeps borrowing to spend even more. 17 trillion. Hillary is just more of the same. We the voters seem powerless. We must vote the Progressive Democrats out in 2016.

[AARPMiller]

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

[tg31335944]

i was affermed as dissabled about 2003. i was 50 yrs old i started geting ssi each month. when i turned 62 i was geting $500.51 dollars a month. i never chose to sign up for social security. the social security office took it apawn there self to sign me up and it cut my ssi down to $100.00 a month and now my social security is $616.00 a month and ssi $100.00. its very hard to live on that when you pay for gas and my meds are $30.00 pluse fixing lawn mower & every so often parts for car & life ins & car ins house hold items. theres been no cost for living expence in yrs. by the time all these get payed plus the electric bill thers not much left for the month. 

. 

[ld28774123]

Look into the "Extra Help" benefit with Medicare. Depending on your income (mine wwas less than $800) you can qualify to get your Part D premiums paid for and a BIG reduction on your drug costs. Mine are $3.30 for generic and I think, $8.00 for brand names. I got a refund check on a generic that was costing me $104.30. Now it is $3.30!!! Easy to apply, do it online and hear back in less than a month. It is retroactive to time you applied, so hence, the refund. Recycled to medical bills but very welcomed boost.

[faith0059]

  i agree with what we get from social security and no raise this yearand no one cares what we have to pay out,for rent ,heat,electric,phonefood,i pay 1000.00 then i got supplement ins.182.00,and life ins.214,00,and when i`m done my checking says 000,00.

  so what else do they want from us our skin or don`t we eat this month or live under a bridge.

the i read in the paper last week that the goverment want to vote to help mexico by voting to give then some of our money we worked taxed money we worked for. well i feel charty beginns at home and they shgould take care of us first .

faith h.

[ds11972849]

I heard some money saving loopholes will be closed at the end of this April in social securiy that could get seniors more money and benefits.I wonder if this is true and if I'm eligible.

[retiredtraveler]

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ds11972849 wrote:

"...I heard some money saving loopholes will be closed at the end of this April in social securiy that could get seniors more money and benefits.I wonder if this is true and if I'm eligible....".

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  Here's a link:   Your Money: The End of Social Security Loopholes: What ...

[fs3641808]

I am very concerned about what they based the no COLA raise on. From everything I have read & heard it's based on inflation (of gas). Well, gas may be down, everything else is up. Prices go up in the grocery stores from week to week! I'm barely hanging on.

[mh53321653]

What concerns me the most is the recent 57% !!! Rate increase in the monthly premium! I am astounded that this is even legal? I understand that increases are a fact of live, however, this level ofn crease is outrageous for seniors to absorb, especially since there was no increase for the cost of living index!  Is AARP tackling this issue?

[GailL1]

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@mh53321653 wrote:

What concerns me the most is the recent 57% !!! Rate increase in the monthly premium! I am astounded that this is even legal? I understand that increases are a fact of live, however, this level ofn crease is outrageous for seniors to absorb, especially since there was no increase for the cost of living index!  Is AARP tackling this issue?

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  This increase in Part B premiums was only for newly eligibles to Medicare.  IOW, those that are not covered by the hold harmless clause in Social Security. 

The increase to the newly eligibles was toned down some by the Budget deal in 12/2015; course we will all have to make it up whenever we do get another COLA.

You do understand how these Medicare Part B premiums are set, don't you?  They are set by what the actual cost to the program turns out to be.  The government covers about 75% of Part B cost and this comes out of General Revenues.  Part B premiums makes up the other 25%.

[mh53321653]

I am referring to the Medicare premiums increase of 57%. ! In my earlier post.

[mwn560]

SSI is totally un-funded, Collect what you can at the earliest age you can. It will run out. Maybe more sooner than later. I worked for 40 years, I would like to think that they saved enough to pay me back, they did not. Collect what ever you can for as long as you can. Sorry to break the news you already know. This is the real world, and there is no lock box on what you paid in. It was already spent before you paid in. Get out as much as possible as soon as you can. You get more at 70? what a load of crap. if it came down to it, they would hunt you down and kill you. (Chester the horse) do you get it? Something is very wrong, going on right now. Get what's left of the money ASAP. Collect at 62, keep paying in while still working. Don't plan on a check every month. 3 years tops It will be over. Just collect as early as you can, the system is bankrupt. 

[retiredtraveler]

"...SSI is totally un-funded...".

   SSI is supplemental security income, dispensed under SS. You only get this if disabled and a number of other requirements. You can't take it at 62 unless you fulfill other requirements.

[Baren]

My wife had ssi due to her disabilities but they kicked her out at 62 because I was retired and was recieving too much money from disability ss.

Living in Texas we are denied medicade due to our republican governor won't expand it . She found help with a county hospital district . It isn't insurance but a pay program that goes by income .We qualified but since I am 65 I chose to use outside doctors with my medicare program.

    My wife worked all of her life and paid taxes and this is how our government treats her when she needs help . Something has to give in the future or older Americans will do without proper care and die early .

[GailL1]

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@Baren wrote:

My wife had ssi due to her disabilities but they kicked her out at 62 because I was retired and was recieving too much money from disability ss.

Living in Texas we are denied medicade due to our republican governor won't expand it . She found help with a county hospital district . It isn't insurance but a pay program that goes by income .We qualified but since I am 65 I chose to use outside doctors with my medicare program.

    My wife worked all of her life and paid taxes and this is how our government treats her when she needs help . Something has to give in the future or older Americans will do without proper care and die early .

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  If your wife worked all of her life and paid taxes, I am assuming that this was for earned income, then she should be able to qualify for her own Medicare benefit at 65 and her own Social Security Benefit (early retirement age is still 62; Full Retirement Age is now 66 + some months).

[wd28517969]

I'm happy with SS.I have been drawing it for (10) ten years.However,I served in the militiary and as such was able to receive the G.I. bill for education expenses.Even though it took me some (12) twelve years of night school the rewards were worth the efforts expended.To have laid back and 'planned' a retirement on SS alone,would have been,and is foolish.Get off of your behind and take advantage of al of the emense opportunities that this great country offers!

[tasssag4]

women who never worked received half of husbands and he gets all his.NOT RIGHT Women who worked are penalized for working.Makes no sense to me!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GailL1]

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@tasssag4 wrote:
women who never worked received half of husbands and he gets all his.NOT RIGHT Women who worked are penalized for working.Makes no sense to me!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  Then we need to change the law to provide for the spouse not working outside the home - nowadays that could be a man or a woman or any combination of a "couple" where one works outside of the home and the other takes care of the home & family.

The solution is very simple - at tax time during those working years, the couple just splits their total income and any FICA taxes paid in so that instead of reporting it under just the one earing that outside paycheck (one social security number) - it is split at reported under BOTH of their social security numbers.

That way, both of them are actually earning a benefit which they rightly are -

This gives a real value to both of their jobs and rightly so .

[dfwsteph]

I just saw an Associated Press article today regarding Nazi and SS that relocated to this country and how much they collected in Social Security and being promised they could keep their benefits if they would leave??

I certainly do not want  to offend anyone.

I'm including the link.... am I reading this right ? Is this outrageous when our benefits are constantly threatened ?

http://a.msn.com/r/2/BBa86Z2?a=1&m=en-us

[jg8987]

About my foster mom, She does not receive what was said she should receive. Please explain why!

[drawpoker]

Did she receive overpayments,   and now she is having to pay them back?    That could be a possible reason.   But she should have got a letter from SS explaining the process of reducing benefits until the overpayment is fully reimbursed.   

[judygram]

instead of using the surplus Social Security revenue to buy good bonds in the open market, the government chose to spend the money and issue IOUs to replace the spent money.*** These IOUs are non-marketable and could not be sold to anyone, even for a penny on the dollar. The government has the legal authority to declare these IOUs null and void.

The Social Security trust fund does not hold any real economic assets that can be drawn down to pay future benefits. That is an indisputable fact today, and it has been true ever since the 1983 payroll tax hike was enacted. Every dollar of the $2.5 trillion in surplus revenue, generated by the payroll tax hike, has been spent on programs unrelated to Social Security, leaving nothing to save or invest.

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn warns. “We have stolen $2.6 trillion from it. We put paper money in there. The problem is, we spent the money – we didn’t just take it, we took it and spent it,”

Obama knows this and just keeps borrowing to spend even more. 17 trillion. Hillary is just more of the same. We the voters seem powerless. We must vote the Progressive Democrats out in 2016.

[tg5200]

As a single woman in her late 50's I'm very concerned about the amount of Social Security that I will receive when I reach 66 years old.  How is the Social Security Administration handling the years since 2006 when many of us were unemployed for various years due to the economy and not able to find professional-level jobs?  Is it really fair to put "0s" in the calculation for those years since 2006 when we could not find full-time employment?  Why not take the top 30 years and give us a break??

In spite of laws protecting against discrimination, I believe it's alive and well in corporate America.  Federal laws have not been changed in years and are aimed at protecting those from age 40 and up, especially woman.  But, age 40 is very young in these times and corporations will hire all kinds of 40-50 year olds.  They are then able to say they are in compliance with the laws.  But those of us over 50 are having the most difficulty finding full-time employment.  How are we supposed to live when companies let go people over 50 yet we can't begin to collect Social Security until 62?  And at that age, it will be at a much reduced amount.  Even those of us who have saved for years (and saw much of it skimmed by Wall Street) can't take money from our IRAs until 59 1/2.  How do we earn a living to pay all of our bills during the gap period?  Don't say "part-time jobs" are available.  Yes, there are plenty of them which pay little and do not provide benefits.  That's something we did when we were younger but shouldn't have to face again until we actually decide to retire.  Instead, it appears the average citizen has to suffer so that other groups of "exempt" people don't have to contribute to Social Security.  

I have worked hard all of my life and earned a degree while working full-time.  Although I was married when I was young, I did not have children and do not have any now.  I supported myself and the companies that I worked for along with paying my fair share of taxes to federal, state and local entities.  We are in a different economic time and changes do need to be made.  But, the first found of changes should be aimed at people who have not been required to pay their fair share or to pay into the Social Security fund.  

In the past, it made sense to exempt government workers as well as teachers by not requiring them to pay Social Security taxes.  Part of that was because they made lower salaries than most and had their own retirement funds.  Well, guess what??  Most of those individuals make MORE than the rest of us now if you consider age, education, time worked.  And, they should be required to help support the Social Security fund which not only pays retirement benefits, but also pays disabled individuals, surviving spouses, surviving children, etc.  PLEASE!!  Why does everyone think they should be exempt.  We could go a long way at building the social security base if all of those exempt workers were at least required to contribute toward the benefits paid out to Americans for "non-retirement" purposes. (disabled, survivor benefits, etc.)  And, if not already being done, Social Security taxes should be levied on all jobs that are based in the US but are not occupied by American citizens as well as US company jobs that are shipped overseas.

Sorry for the lengthy rant but many things need to be discussed.  If any group of people can help get fair changes made, it will be the AARP!  

[mw7094]

Why, we have not had that income every yr. yet have had our social security taxed every yr.? There are supposed to be income limits. We always get a form, and we always fill in the taxes right and we always get taxed even if do not make the top income. Have always, every yr, paid taxes on my social security, disability income, and only one yr made the amount of money like it explains for this yr. so we have had my disability income always taxed even if didnt make the income that requires the tax plus the state of ohio, has always changed it every yr. and taxes us always more and they were not allowed to do that either. I am getting charged for someones income. or something is very wrong, but every yr. always taxed. That is by the instructions and receiving the forms in the mail and then i get double hit by the state on non taxable income.