Have a Retirement Question?
Ask Mary Jane
Retirement Years - With or Without Social Security?
One of the grave concerns our aging society is facing today is how they are going to live after retirement. Often in the news we are bombarded with the message that the Social Security fund is in danger of failing. What will they do? Many do not have enough working time left before retirement to put away sufficient funds to totally provide for themselves.
Those who are retired are caught in a fixed income trap that already is falling behind the current rising cost of living. Now many retirees are facing the threat of losing their hard-earned pensions. They are worried about how they will live.
Younger workers are faced with the knowledge that pensions may not be available to them and that if they do not provide for themselves they may face poverty in their old age.
Our politicians claim that they have no idea how to properly fund the Social Security Plan. We feel that it could be easily fixed if proper steps were taken. Currently a worker only pays Social Security tax on the first $102,000 earned. This means that the maximum employee/employer’s contribution per year is $12,648 no matter what the worker earns even is you are a CEO of a corporation or an athlete making $10 million dollars or more.
If the $102,000 cap were removed someone earning $10 million would pay $1,240,000 per year. This would equal the amount paid by 400 workers who earn $25,000 per year.
This change, while probably not very popular with those earning large wages, would make it possible to increase Social Security benefits helping everyone to obtain a living wage at the age of 65 or whenever Social Security is available, stopping some retirees from having to make the choice between eating or buying their medication.
A New Bill Is Needed to Reform Social Security
At the present time the fix for Social Security includes extending the age of eligibility for drawing benefits. I can't help but think that the government is counting on 25% or more of the citizens dying before they can collect any benefits.
The younger workers in our workforce are fortunate to have jobs at all in our distressed economy. The thoughts of putting money away for retirement is generally out of the question. These jobs barely allow them to support themselves and their immediate family. How are they going to be able to save toward their retirement? Those in 50's have been paying into the system since they were young and now are facing the possibility of later drawing of Social Security or the lack of these payments altogether.
Most of the people who are now 65 and up had more benefits while they were working, something our younger workers will no longer experience. They have had
1) company paid pensions
2) the ability to buy houses for 1 years wages
3) property values that steadily increased
4) company paid health insurance with low or no deductibles.
Even with these advantages people who are they are finding it difficult to live on Social Security and pensions. They are having trouble keeping their homes because of the inflated property taxes, the cost of medicine and healthcare, utilities that have gone out of sight especially government run water and sewer rates, the rising cost of gasoline and subsequently the rising cost of food and services. If our retirees are suffering now, what will happen to our retirees of the future?
Are you aware that Social Security Disability stops at the age of 62? How are these people, who are unable to work, expected to live until they are eligible for their regular Social Security benefits? With the cost of living so high it is virtually impossible for them to put money away to tide them over. Our younger people on disability will be totally unable to provide for themselves if Social Security is no longer available. If an insurance company is paying their disability instead of the coverage stopping at 62 they should be compelled to continue payments until Social Security payments would begin.
Social Security reform is needed, however, before a new bill is introduced the following needs to be taken into consideration. The funding for Social Security needs to be spread fairly across the board to all citizens. The wealthy should not be exempt from paying into the Social Security fund on all of their earnings. The loop holes and the caps need to be removed. No longer can our country be mainly supported by those earning $50,000 to $100,000 and under. Most people making $100's of thousands, millions or billions a year earn their money by employing workers whose manual labor and minds provide the work and/ or product which allows them to earn these magnificent salaries while their average worker, in many cases, hardly earns a living wage. Without this workforce these millionaires/billionaires would not be making their fortunes.
Banking and Wall Street executives are still receiving salaries and bonuses while their workers and customers are suffering. Most of the profits for these businesses are earned at the cost of 401k purchasers who are counting on this money for their retirement, high interest loans and default costs.
Lawyers who win lucrative settlements for their clients who often are lower wage earners and then take a huge chunk of it for their payment only have to pay into the Social Security system to the cap amount. Is this fair?
Star athletes, team owners, sports agents etc. would not be earning their magnificent salaries if their fans, often those earning much smaller salaries than they, did not support them and pay to see them.
Doctors use to made tremendous salaries on their own. Now, many of our doctors and healthcare professionals are compelled to work for corporations that are often run by non-healthcare personal who are only interested in profits for the management company. They find themselves earning less and having to have group practices due to the tremendous costs to them and the restrictions placed on their practices by the healthcare corporations and insurance companies.
It is imperative that a new bill be introduced to save our Social Security system. It seems only fair that the caps and loopholes be removed from the system and that all of our citizens pay the same percentage of their salaries into Social Security. It seems to me that this would be a much fairer system for everyone and the Social Security system would no longer be in danger of failing. It must also be stated that any surplus may not be used for anything else. However, no riders, or pork as some like to call it, should be allowed to be added to any bill that is introduced. Extra incentives should not be needed for our legislators to do their jobs.
Respectfully submitted by
Earl Wilk, Sr.
L.A.W.S., Inc. Board Member
I am working with my Congressman Bob Huizenga and encouraging
him to initiate a Bill for Social Security reform along the ideas from Earl's letter.
Pat Meyer
Ask Mary Jane
Retirement Years - With or Without Social Security?
One of the grave concerns our aging society is facing today is how they are going to live after retirement. Often in the news we are bombarded with the message that the Social Security fund is in danger of failing. What will they do? Many do not have enough working time left before retirement to put away sufficient funds to totally provide for themselves.
Those who are retired are caught in a fixed income trap that already is falling behind the current rising cost of living. Now many retirees are facing the threat of losing their hard-earned pensions. They are worried about how they will live.
Younger workers are faced with the knowledge that pensions may not be available to them and that if they do not provide for themselves they may face poverty in their old age.
Our politicians claim that they have no idea how to properly fund the Social Security Plan. We feel that it could be easily fixed if proper steps were taken. Currently a worker only pays Social Security tax on the first $102,000 earned. This means that the maximum employee/employer’s contribution per year is $12,648 no matter what the worker earns even is you are a CEO of a corporation or an athlete making $10 million dollars or more.
If the $102,000 cap were removed someone earning $10 million would pay $1,240,000 per year. This would equal the amount paid by 400 workers who earn $25,000 per year.
This change, while probably not very popular with those earning large wages, would make it possible to increase Social Security benefits helping everyone to obtain a living wage at the age of 65 or whenever Social Security is available, stopping some retirees from having to make the choice between eating or buying their medication.
A New Bill Is Needed to Reform Social Security
At the present time the fix for Social Security includes extending the age of eligibility for drawing benefits. I can't help but think that the government is counting on 25% or more of the citizens dying before they can collect any benefits.
The younger workers in our workforce are fortunate to have jobs at all in our distressed economy. The thoughts of putting money away for retirement is generally out of the question. These jobs barely allow them to support themselves and their immediate family. How are they going to be able to save toward their retirement? Those in 50's have been paying into the system since they were young and now are facing the possibility of later drawing of Social Security or the lack of these payments altogether.
Most of the people who are now 65 and up had more benefits while they were working, something our younger workers will no longer experience. They have had
1) company paid pensions
2) the ability to buy houses for 1 years wages
3) property values that steadily increased
4) company paid health insurance with low or no deductibles.
Even with these advantages people who are they are finding it difficult to live on Social Security and pensions. They are having trouble keeping their homes because of the inflated property taxes, the cost of medicine and healthcare, utilities that have gone out of sight especially government run water and sewer rates, the rising cost of gasoline and subsequently the rising cost of food and services. If our retirees are suffering now, what will happen to our retirees of the future?
Are you aware that Social Security Disability stops at the age of 62? How are these people, who are unable to work, expected to live until they are eligible for their regular Social Security benefits? With the cost of living so high it is virtually impossible for them to put money away to tide them over. Our younger people on disability will be totally unable to provide for themselves if Social Security is no longer available. If an insurance company is paying their disability instead of the coverage stopping at 62 they should be compelled to continue payments until Social Security payments would begin.
Social Security reform is needed, however, before a new bill is introduced the following needs to be taken into consideration. The funding for Social Security needs to be spread fairly across the board to all citizens. The wealthy should not be exempt from paying into the Social Security fund on all of their earnings. The loop holes and the caps need to be removed. No longer can our country be mainly supported by those earning $50,000 to $100,000 and under. Most people making $100's of thousands, millions or billions a year earn their money by employing workers whose manual labor and minds provide the work and/ or product which allows them to earn these magnificent salaries while their average worker, in many cases, hardly earns a living wage. Without this workforce these millionaires/billionaires would not be making their fortunes.
Banking and Wall Street executives are still receiving salaries and bonuses while their workers and customers are suffering. Most of the profits for these businesses are earned at the cost of 401k purchasers who are counting on this money for their retirement, high interest loans and default costs.
Lawyers who win lucrative settlements for their clients who often are lower wage earners and then take a huge chunk of it for their payment only have to pay into the Social Security system to the cap amount. Is this fair?
Star athletes, team owners, sports agents etc. would not be earning their magnificent salaries if their fans, often those earning much smaller salaries than they, did not support them and pay to see them.
Doctors use to made tremendous salaries on their own. Now, many of our doctors and healthcare professionals are compelled to work for corporations that are often run by non-healthcare personal who are only interested in profits for the management company. They find themselves earning less and having to have group practices due to the tremendous costs to them and the restrictions placed on their practices by the healthcare corporations and insurance companies.
It is imperative that a new bill be introduced to save our Social Security system. It seems only fair that the caps and loopholes be removed from the system and that all of our citizens pay the same percentage of their salaries into Social Security. It seems to me that this would be a much fairer system for everyone and the Social Security system would no longer be in danger of failing. It must also be stated that any surplus may not be used for anything else. However, no riders, or pork as some like to call it, should be allowed to be added to any bill that is introduced. Extra incentives should not be needed for our legislators to do their jobs.
Respectfully submitted by
Earl Wilk, Sr.
L.A.W.S., Inc. Board Member
I am working with my Congressman Bob Huizenga and encouraging
him to initiate a Bill for Social Security reform along the ideas from Earl's letter.
Pat Meyer
Comment Regarding Social Security article
It just makes me sick how the retired people on Social Security are treated by the government. All you hear is that Social Security is going bankrupt and they don't know what they're going to do in the future. If the idiots wouldn't have taken the funds for all these years and used it for everything else, instead of what it was intended for, we would all be getting $3000 to $4000 a month and there would be plenty of money. It all started when Lyndon Johnson was elected to office. He withdrew every dime his first 4 years in office, so what happens, he gets re-elected and he does the same thing the last 4. So now all we hear is Social Security is so broke. Good gosh, we paid into this thing all of our lives and all we get is a few crumbs handed out to us. No cost of living raise the last 2 years because they know how to manipulate the system. In my opinion, we'll never get another raise. So, what the retired people have now is what they'll have for years to come. Let the government people live on our Social Security and they would change the system very shortly.
Don Wagner
