How secure are your future Social Security (SS) checks?
Turns out, not very secure. After 2034, when the Trustees say they will run out of “reserves” there will only be enough money coming in from workers to pay just 77% of your promised retirement benefits!
Your SS income may be cut by a quarter or so. But that’s not all. Medicare Part A, which helps pay for services such as inpatient hospital care, will be able to pay scheduled benefits until 2028, two years later than reported last year.
At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing total program income will be sufficient to pay 90 percent of total scheduled benefits.
Politicians call these benefits “entitlements.” Hell no!
We all paid into this system with after-tax dollars. I’ve been paying my FICA taxes since I was 14.
In my “Social Security” book that I wrote in 2013 (updated annually), I described a number of ideas (not mine) that would fix the SS “Ponzi scheme.”
You can get my 2022 edition here: https://amzn.to/2I6ibBj
Anyway, “lawmakers have many policy options that would reduce or eliminate the long-term financing shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare.
Taking action sooner rather than later will allow consideration of a broader range of solutions and provide more time to phase in changes so that the public has adequate time to prepare.”
Yet, none of these potential solutions have been acted on since 2013. In fact, there are many in Congress who want to add to benefits, even though there aren’t funds to fulfill existing promises.
It’s my personal opinion, that most Americans, WILL get most or all of their promised benefits by raising taxes on the “wealthy.” But for the top 10%-20% of retirement incomes, our benefits will get means-tested away.
You can view a copy of the Trustee’s Report here:
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/TRSUM/index.html
all the best…Mark