Repaying Social Security Can Be a Good Deal

yahoo ^ | Tuesday, July 20, 2010 | Lisa Scherzer

[BenLurkin]

A June survey by AARP found that Americans age 44 to 75 fear running out of money more than they fear death. More than half of people age 44 to 54 are afraid they won't be able to cover basic living expenses in retirement.

Resetting your Social Security benefits is essentially a safeguard against outliving your savings.

"That's the biggest worry we have — clients living past normal life expectancy and running out of money," says Brett Horowitz, a certified financial planner and principal at Evensky & Katz. "If they're going to live to 90, you have to make sure that they'll have enough money in inflation-adjusted dollars." Resetting your benefits is easiest way since it's like having an annuity that's guaranteed for your lifetime and your spouse's lifetime and has a cost-of-living adjustment included, he says.

Retirees are allowed to draw Social Security benefits at age 62. However, according to the Social Security Administration, "full retirement age" — when you're eligible to receive full benefits — is 65 to 67. Until then, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will deduct $1 from the benefits you were to get for every $2 you earn above the annual wage limit, which is $14,160 in 2010.

However, most retirees start their benefits the earliest they can: 42.5% of men started taking Social Security benefits at age 62 in 2008, while 48.3% of women started claiming benefits at age 62, according to the SSA. (Just 7% of men claimed benefits at age 63, and 6.9% of women claimed at age 63.)

[taxtruth]

Social Security is a PONZI SCHEME/SCAM dreamed up by the government to steal peoples money.Plain and simple!

[jtal]

LOCKBOX!

[TruthConquers]

It sounds like they want to encourage people to wait longer before they get their SS money.

Too bad for them that most people realize now is better than the nothing they will get if they wait a few more years.

[oyez]

Social Security was an idiotic idea that required trust in the Federal government to handle large sums of money.

[miele man]

If a person is living only on their social security, how or where then, in the example in the article, do they come up with $117 grand?

[freedumb2003]

Anyone under 60 who included SSI in their retirement planing is too stupid to live, anyway (well, that is a bit strong but you know what I mean).

If I end up with any SSI at all, it will be “bubble gum money” — nice to have but not part of any long-term plan.

Even 20 years ago I put a big zero for SSI in my plan. I assume FReepers are also too smart to count on Ponzi Scheme. I really hope so.

[CaspersGh0sts]

If there’s any justice or sensibility at all in this country, this program is on the way to being phased out within 4-years. It’s by far the easiest of the entitlement programs to go after and by far the biggest rip-off.

[101voodoo]

I know, let’s raise the retirement age to 80. Since the average life span here is less than that, most beneficiaries will be dead before they collect a cent and the politicians can keep all that cash for their pork programs.

Problem solved.

[Renegade]

I use my “bubble Gum” money to buy weapons and lead.