[Graybeard58]

My Dad is still going strong at 93, collecting SS and medicare benefits.

And my dad passed away in 1974, having paid in since SS inception and never collected a dime.

[John Valentine]

I am saddened to hear about your Dad. The situation you describe is one of the real tragedys of the existing system - NONE of us have any ownership rights over the money we have paid in. It is not ours. We can’t bequeath it to our heirs. We have no real accounts.

We need to reform the system (or get rid of it entirely - an unrealistic expectation) so that the money we put in is:

1. ours
2. invested, not spent
3. managed honestly and transparently

None of these things are true today.