How can this country ever fix the social security system?
Answers
671 points
rvilmur answered 3 months ago …
Not really. A too large percentage of the population are not willing to take personal responsibility for their retirement funding. Even if the government wanted to privatize the Social Security system, there is NO money in the Social Security system to give back the contributions for private investment. The government is spending the money as it comes in and still runs a large deficit in the combined budget.
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951 points
Grudun answered 3 months ago …
In order to fix social security there needs to be a combination of solutions. Benefits will need to be reduced, better administered, taxes increased and a way out of the program. Benefits can be cut by reducing the cost of living adjustments, delaying benefits for people who are not recieving them yet and having a larger reduction in benefits for those with other sources of income. Taxes will need to be increased by raising the max amount subject to social security tax and a slight raise in the rate. Benefits can be made to go farther by instituting cost saving programs such as a reward for reports of benefits going to dead people(more and more common with direct deposit) or people who are not disabled and reform of medicare(the amount of waste is stagering) with a program to reward citizens and government employees for suggesting and implementing specific ways to improve the system. These progams would take some funding and research(make sure reports and ideas are accurate) but would result in significant savings. The final solution would be to allow some people to opt out of some benefits in the future for a government administered savings account(maybe 1/3 of your direct taxes would "go" into the fund) reducing future benefits and giving people another option for the future if they are smart enough to take it.
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108 points
andbham answered 3 months ago …
No good answer here. My grandmother got a free ride. Everything is wonderful as long as the population is constantly expanding. Now those of us who benefit in the future pay the price for the benefits of the past. Wealth is distributed both rich to poor and across generations. Those that pay can never expect to get as much back as they would like. Those that receive had best plan on getting less... because at some point in the near future we are going to hit the wall!!!
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583 points
jillybeansisme answered 3 months ago …
First of all, let's understand that Social Security was never meant to be the total retirement income for a person. Let's also understand that the money received isn't much when you are on disability.
My Sister, may God give her the strength to get through her battle, is on disability. She receives $1132/month. She received a $5/month cost-of-living raise this year. Social Security keeps after her and she continuously must prove she cannot work (she is battling Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer which has metatisized). In order to get Medicaid, she had to first deplete her entire savings (which goes quickly with chemo) and she must prove spend-down that she is financially unable to provide insurance for herself.
With most people living into their 80s, 90s, and some even longer -- there is no reason they shouldn't be able to continue to make an income. Why is it that you can receive Social Security and still work full time and make as much $$$ as you want? Why are we paying benefits at all to people who work?
The savings rate in the United States is, at best, pathetic. How would you expect them to handle privatization of Social Security? Why not have a government plan like some of the Corporations 401K plans -- they contribute to your account 50% of every $1 you save up to X $$$$s and make all of those government contributions and growth/dividends tax free. This way, yes, your income is taxed still, but on your taxes you file you have to list your accounts anyway, so that's how the gov't. would know what to send and where.
Now wouldn't that be an incentive to save. Oh, and we could fund it by not paying people to not grow certain crops or not giving tax breaks to corporations making Billions of $$$$ in profits, or not paying outrageous amounts of $$$ for toilet seats for government entities, or not allowing those in Congress who are supposed to work for us to have an enormous raise, and the list goes on. Of course, this would mean the end of the lobbyists (oh where would the politicians then go???).
There will be no easy fix. But we can start. Start by contributing to your own retirement. Start by going out in November and VOTING.
393 points
jester112358 answered 3 months ago …
Easy enough. Raise the retirement age until drawdowns match income from SS taxes. Means test the payments. If you have enough income from other sources, you don't get to collect any. Good luck trying the get politicians or people to accept these simple fixes. By-the-way, both of these would negatively affect me-but they are still the right thing to do. If we don't do them, the problems will take care of themselves through government insolvency-then there won't be any funds to disburse. So don't worry, be happy, be healthy.
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