2010/03/16 at 2:39 PM · Filed under Advice/Love and tagged: benefits, blog, commentary, deficit, depletion, disater, economic climate, economy, education, finance, financial situations, funding, government, IOU, money, opinion, retirement, savings options, shortfall, smart savings, social security
If you’re like many Americans you can’t wait for the glory days. The planting of your garden, vacations with the prospective grandchildren, that national road trip, and some traveling abroad. Wait- not if social security is your only means of retirement income. The latest numbers indicate that like every other facet of our economic structure social security is in grave danger. As the 77 million or so baby boomers reach retirement age and as the job market continues to rain down pick-slips like torrential down pours, more and more people are requesting to draw their social security benefits. That maybe fine for them, but for you and me that spells disaster. The government estimates that by 2037 the fund maybe completely depleted unless legislative action and an overhaul are undergone. Unless that takes place you and I will both be the victims of government IOU’s that will forever remain outstanding.
This year and for the next few years to come the social security administration will have to pay out more in benefits than it collected, and in doing so they will have try to begin collection on the IOU’s that the federal government has so candidly issued. With layoffs at every corner social security is not experiencing the same financial participation that it once did. This spells benefit shortfalls and potential depletion. All that we have contributed; all that we have worked for is actually in the process of depletion. Without a strategic economic plan there simply will not be any social security for us to look forward to. The sad situation is that those who do see benefit payouts will have to learn to sustain themselves on a monthly income of about $1,200! That’s about what I spend on 4 months of groceries. How can a nation that is so proud and so strong allow for such a huge financial blunder? We pay exactly 6.2 percent in social security taxes on our wages up to around $106,000 and that number is matched by our employer, which means if you earn $30,000/yr. you are paying $1,860 in social security taxes. If you sustain that income for a period of 25 years you have paid in, $46,500 and you are only getting a fraction of that if you’re lucky.
The lesson here people is we need to get smart; we need to resort to the days of stuffing our mattresses’ and cookie jar hiding. With the markets the way they are and banks immerging and falling there are very few safe places to grow a nest egg. I am urging you to take a good hard look at your financial future. Take hold of it not only for your sake, but for the sake of your children and grandchildren. A simple savings of $100.00/mo. adds up to $1200.00 a year. If at the minimum you saved only that $100.00 a month for the next 25 working years you will have saved yourself, $30,000. While the numbers looks like something more in line with a year’s hard earned salary, it is about 2 ½ years social security. Now, put that away in a Roth IRA or some other account and now you’ve done yourself a financial service. The days of government bailouts and dependency are over, we are facing a national deficit in the trillions and it is going to take years to pay that off. Our debts internationally have also grown and funds are being, “barrowed” from federally promised retirement funds such as civil service and military pensions. Do the research, check the math and save your future.
She's Spoken 
Social Security -Sorry, I meant IOU.
2010/03/16 at 2:39 PM · Filed under Advice/Love and tagged: benefits, blog, commentary, deficit, depletion, disater, economic climate, economy, education, finance, financial situations, funding, government, IOU, money, opinion, retirement, savings options, shortfall, smart savings, social security
If you’re like many Americans you can’t wait for the glory days. The planting of your garden, vacations with the prospective grandchildren, that national road trip, and some traveling abroad. Wait- not if social security is your only means of retirement income. The latest numbers indicate that like every other facet of our economic structure social security is in grave danger. As the 77 million or so baby boomers reach retirement age and as the job market continues to rain down pick-slips like torrential down pours, more and more people are requesting to draw their social security benefits. That maybe fine for them, but for you and me that spells disaster. The government estimates that by 2037 the fund maybe completely depleted unless legislative action and an overhaul are undergone. Unless that takes place you and I will both be the victims of government IOU’s that will forever remain outstanding.
This year and for the next few years to come the social security administration will have to pay out more in benefits than it collected, and in doing so they will have try to begin collection on the IOU’s that the federal government has so candidly issued. With layoffs at every corner social security is not experiencing the same financial participation that it once did. This spells benefit shortfalls and potential depletion. All that we have contributed; all that we have worked for is actually in the process of depletion. Without a strategic economic plan there simply will not be any social security for us to look forward to. The sad situation is that those who do see benefit payouts will have to learn to sustain themselves on a monthly income of about $1,200! That’s about what I spend on 4 months of groceries. How can a nation that is so proud and so strong allow for such a huge financial blunder? We pay exactly 6.2 percent in social security taxes on our wages up to around $106,000 and that number is matched by our employer, which means if you earn $30,000/yr. you are paying $1,860 in social security taxes. If you sustain that income for a period of 25 years you have paid in, $46,500 and you are only getting a fraction of that if you’re lucky.
The lesson here people is we need to get smart; we need to resort to the days of stuffing our mattresses’ and cookie jar hiding. With the markets the way they are and banks immerging and falling there are very few safe places to grow a nest egg. I am urging you to take a good hard look at your financial future. Take hold of it not only for your sake, but for the sake of your children and grandchildren. A simple savings of $100.00/mo. adds up to $1200.00 a year. If at the minimum you saved only that $100.00 a month for the next 25 working years you will have saved yourself, $30,000. While the numbers looks like something more in line with a year’s hard earned salary, it is about 2 ½ years social security. Now, put that away in a Roth IRA or some other account and now you’ve done yourself a financial service. The days of government bailouts and dependency are over, we are facing a national deficit in the trillions and it is going to take years to pay that off. Our debts internationally have also grown and funds are being, “barrowed” from federally promised retirement funds such as civil service and military pensions. Do the research, check the math and save your future.
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