Posted on 05/03/2016 7:55:49 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Politicians describe Social Security as "the third rail," meaning that enacting any benefit cuts will kill them politically. But this is precisely what they voted to do under the Bipartisan Budget Bill of 2015.
The bill reduced the benefits of married couples and divorcees who were younger than 62 as of Jan. 2 by up to $60,000. Even $25,000 is a lot of money for most workers, given that the median household income is about $50,000.
The new law prevents most people who reach age 66 from providing spousal benefits to their spouse or children while letting their own retirement benefit grow through age 70. The exceptions are those who filed for their retirement benefit, but suspended it sometime before April 29.
The new law also forces spouses who were not 62 before Jan. 2, 2016 to file for their retirement benefit when they file for their spousal benefit. Since Social Security won't pay two benefits at once, this means such spouses simply get the larger of the two benefits (i.e., they lose one of the two). Spouses as well as divorced spouses (who were married for 10 or more years) who reached 62 by Jan. 2 can still collect just their spousal or divorced spousal benefit between 66 and 70 and then take their own retirement benefit at 70.
The new law was passed in the dead of night and rushed to a vote with no public hearings let alone congressional debate — this despite the fact that millions of households, most of which are low-and middle-income, were having their retirement plans upended.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
There are a couple other very nasty provisions in the new law, but the basic story is that Congress, at the president’s urging (contained in his 2015 budget proposal) just cut many if not most Americans’ Social Security benefits by thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. Even worse, the new law will push many people to take their retirement benefits earlier and at far lower levels than they had planned.
The idea was to extend the time the system goes BK. Of course we do this while putting tens of thousands of people who never paid in a dime on benefits. If this government were in private business, every one of them would be in jail.
It sucks to say this, but it is almost like you have to be permanently disabled to actually enjoy retirement if you are not yet 62 and will rely on social security when you retire.
thanks for posting this.
Making decisions on Federal Government programs, in my experience, is always a “heads” they win, “tails” I lose proposition.
Then again, I am not a Muslim or central American immigrant.
I took advantage of a SS loophole that I think shouldn’t have existed, and in fact, is now closed with the new act.(except for some minor grandfathering)
My spouse & I are the same age. I took full retirement @ 66. My wife filed a restricted spousal monthly benefit that is half of mine.
As she approaches 70, she will either file under her own or if I’m dead, take mine. In the mean time, she socks away 48 months of benefits.
Nice little nest egg.
Wow...isn’t this special...
“Spouses as well as divorced spouses (who were married for 10 or more years) who reached 62 by Jan. 2 can still collect just their spousal or divorced spousal benefit between 66 and 70 and then take their own retirement benefit at 70. “
That means in another year, I’m living WAY below the poverty line. Do you know they take only the last 10 years of work history to figure your SS....I was caring for a sick mother and stepfather and sick grandkids and was too sick to work myself during that time.....so they see it as I NEVER worked...yes 40 years of working ,raising my kids with NO CHILD SUPPORT or help from anyone and THIS is what I have to look forward to. THANK GOD I am so sick!
Bookmark
It’s all about money and control. They want complete control over who gets what and who pays what. That is communism, without the name.
Meanwhile the EBT, SNAP, Wick, Housing subsidies and disability benefits all got raises. (Who’s privileged now?)
Do you know they take only the last 10 years of work history to figure your SS....I was caring for a sick mother and stepfather and sick grandkids and was too sick to work myself during that time.....so they see it as I NEVER worked...
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I don’t think that’s correct. You can go online and check your projected benefits.
There is no lockbox. The politicians have already stolen the money and we’re $20 trillion in debt, so expect them to keep chipping away at what you’ve earned.
That 10 year look back will kill me if I wait the full retirement age. Layoff/early retirement in 2013, took care of a cancer patient in 2014/2015 and went back to work as a contract worker last June. I get a very modest pension but need the fulltime job status like yesterday in order to make this work. This sucks.
HISTORY LESSON ON YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD
Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn’t know this. It’s easy to check out, if you ...don’t believe it. Be sure and show it to your family and friends. They need a little history lesson on what’s what and it doesn’t matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.
Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated the number and card were not to be used for identification purposes.
Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway and the NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION message was removed.
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program.
1.) That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary [No longer voluntary],
2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program [Now 7.65% on the first $90,000, and 15% on the first $90,000 if you’re self-employed],
3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year [No longer tax deductible],
4.) That the money the participants put into the independent ‘Trust Fund’ rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program [Under Johnson the money was moved to the General Fund and Spent], and
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income [Under Clinton & Gore up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed].
Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month — and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to ‘put away’ — you may be interested in the following:
Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent ‘Trust Fund’ and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.
Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the ‘tie-breaking’ deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US
AND MY FAVORITE:
Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?
A: That’s right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!
Now, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!
And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!
I don’t think that’s correct. You can go online and check your projected benefits.”
They basically cut loopholes in the law that allowed people to play fancy games with the system.
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