“military spouses are cut in half.”
Seems a bit Sharia-law.
Seriously - SS benefits shuold be a small part of retirement planning, but let’s be honest, SS withholdings are a small part of the paycheck. You only get 6.2% withheld, you still get 93.8% of your wages to live on and invest. We have the option of 401ks, so we all can have our private retirement savings accounts. If you are smart, you live on 78.8% of your income, put 6.2% into SS, and 15% into IRAs. Then when you retire, you live off a combination of the two. If you invest well, the SS check is an after thought.
Those hypercritical of SS say, “let me put my 6.2% plus the 15% into an IRA, and I’ll be better off.” That was certainly true in the 1980s and 1990s, but it hasn’t been true in 12 years, and may not be true again for another dozen years, no one knows. In the meantime, we ought to view SS as a modest part of our future. It’s only a small part of our income, and its future demise is highly exaggerated. (At worse, benefits will be cut from what was promised to 75% of what was promised — painful, but not fatal.)
It isn’t 6.2%. It’s 15.3%, not a small amount by any measure.
Just because the employers doesn’t give your half to you, but sends it directly to SS instead, doesn’t mean that half isn’t out of your pocket. That was just part of the sleight of hand the Dems did so it wouldn’t look so big. Don’t fall for it, as nearly everyone has.
Actually, if you did that, you'd be in prison - for failing to pay income taxes.
Let me put my 12.4% plus the 15% into an IRA, and I'll be better off.
Because I'll have almost 83% more in my IRA.