and replace it with IOU's? Because my Honey and I live for the most part on our Social Security benefits this is a question I really want to know the Truth about! As much research as I do on this topic...I don't really know all of that Truth yet...but the day we don't get our SS benefits is the day I will know that Truth (unless it's a government takeover to control us). Have you ever thought about this or looked into it? The News is always saying that Social Security will run out in such and such a year. Why is this? History says since Social Security began the excess would be drawing interest for when we needed it. What happened? Today I read an article that said the Government didn't steal our savings but it is in Treasury Bonds...well what the heck is a Treasury Bond going to do for us if they aren't worth the paper they are printed on? https://www.ssa.gov/history/orghist.html
That is a really excellent question, and one that I believe many of us have pondered, especially lately, @Babs Hunt. One of the interesting things is that they always talk about Social Security running out, and why they have to keep raising the retirement age. This year, we didn't even get the miniscule raise that is supposed to keep us up with the rising cost of living. Gasoline was cheaper this year, they said. Like that affects us a whole lot ? Most of us who are retired do not have to drive back and forth to work every day still; but we DO still have to buy groceries, winter jackets, and a decent pair of shoes now and then. None of that stuff has gone down. Plus, they seem to have found enough money to put a lot of those illegal aliens and their families on SS, Medicare, and Medicaid , and none of them paid in a dime like we seniors have been doing most of our working life. Then there is welfare, and you never hear anything about that running out, either. So, it seems that the people who have been told to expect to lose our source of income is mainly us, who are now mostly too old, or disabled, and can't go back to work and support ourselves should we lose it.
http://www.tolerance.org/immigration-myths Actually @Yvonne Smith...it was basically that the Government or whoever decides this... said the cost of living index did not go up enough to give us on SS a cost of living raise. I think our Government actually has a conspiracy going on to make us believe that "illegal immigrants" take all our excess money for the benefits we work so hard for. If you read the article I have linked you will see that this is actually not the truth at all. At one time in my life I actually needed Food Stamps to survive...and did not feel guilty about applying for them since we had been paying into this system for years. There are some that "rip off" the help that was set in place for those in need...and then there is our own Government who has "ripped off" many of us who have "in trust" followed their laws and rules and in spite of that been "shafted" by those who we put our faith and trust in.
In a sense, I suppose they did. Originally, Social Security was supposed to be only for those who had paid into it, and the money collected from employers and employees was supposed to be designated to a special fund. Before long, they extended it to include spouses, and then they extended it to include the disabled and other people who have never even paid into it, tapping into the Social Security fund to pay for welfare debts. Then it was decided that there would be no designated Social Security fund. Instead, the money collected for Social Security was simply dumped into the general fund.
I always thought the Government "borrows" our social security to pay for "who-knows-what" before it ever has time to accrue interest.
Since we have a huge national debt and the SS funds are now in the general fund, yes there is no interest.
That might be true to a certain extant but whenever you begin anything there are kinks to work out, things you didn't realize would end up being part of the whole package. But taking money out from the "general purpose" of the plan is not and should not be part of the plan!
Well yes, actually now days, and who knows for how long... they do...and a lot of the time it has nothing to do with what SS was originally set up for.
I've seen both sides of this debate on the 'Net and, as always, if it's on the 'Net i HAS to be true! I side with the views that state that the funds have been tossed into other venues, worthless ones at that. My time to collect won't be here yet for another 4-1/2 years, and I just KNOW that when I get up to the window it will be slammed in my face ...
I'm gittin' my checks; you young whippersnappers just keep workin' and paying your taxes and stop complainin'.
No window will slam in your face if the right candidate becomes president. Forget Hillary. I saw her at a small town meeting (she was not with Bernie Sanders. She was alone). An audience member stood up and asked her what she was going to do to insure that all will receive their Social Security Her answer was very strange and proved she was clueless about SS. This is what she said and keep in mind the man asking the question was black…Hillary's answer: "Well, statistics show that black people will die before white people so you probably won't get to collect it when you reach 70 (omg yes, I heard her say it with my own ears but you won't see the biased media report it). Then she said, "But I'm going to focus on the women whose husbands die and then she loses half her social security. Huh? That's not true. It's the exact opposite. She gets to chose either his benefits or her own benefits depending on which is higher….and she has the option to receive it at age 60 if she wants (although it's higher if she waits).
On the bright side, they've been telling us that Social Security was going to go bankrupt for at least twenty years now, and it only comes up in election years.
That's why we took ours at 62 instead of waiting for full retirement age! Since my husband stills works part time his check may increase a little at full retirement age, but we're not counting on this.
Since the SS fund is mixed in with the general fund, I figure it will go bankrupt at about the same time we can no longer afford to buy bombs, give financial aid to three-quarters of the countries in the world, including some of the ones that we're bombing, and offer great financial packages to government employees and elected officials.