I see social security as a welfare program to ensure seniors don’t starve to death. I see it as a tax. I support a means test if your income is above a certain level you don’t get SS.
I also support IRA accounts and no government SS. Individual responsibility. Let the welfare program take care of those who can’t make it and shut down SS.
My wife and I are self-employed. That means we get the privilege of paying both ends of the Social Security and Medicare taxes. Oh boy, we cannot tell you how happy we are to be paying into basically an soon-to-be insolvent ponzi scheme.
Before reducing the little money seniors get from SS and before raising taxes on workers, get rid of SSDI !!!!!!! It is not social security but welfare. Move it to the general fund or don’t have it at all.
STOP USING THE MONEY FOR SSI. This year, seniors got a 2% increase. My 96 year old mother got ONE DOLLAR; last year she got NOTHING. My wife lost money this year. In the 8 years of the half breed, SS went up a TOTAL of 8.9%, most of which went to Medicare.
War on Seniors.
Death Knell? But we were Promised!
https://www.ssa.gov/history/ssa/usa1964-2.html
Self-Supporting
“The program is designed so that contributions plus interest on the investments of the social security trust funds will be sufficient to meet all of the costs of benefits and administration, now and into the indefinite future—without any subsidy from the general funds of the Government.
Both the Congress and the Executive Branch, regardless of political party in power, have scrupulously provided in advance for full financing of all liberalizations in the program.”
And HERE’S where your money went.
https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/fundFAQ.html#n4
They could stop paying people who never paid into the program. Maybe that would help.
But I was promised by Democrats that Social Security funds were in a “lock box” and would be available when needed.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-auerbach/the-social-security-lock-_b_830563.html
They even updated the lock box act in 2016
Social Security Quick Calculator
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc
My example. If you figure 66 and a half which I could do I would lose about $90/month if wait 6 months. If 70 then that is $500/month more. I am lucky I have some stock so my retirement should not be a worry about money.
Retirement
Your estimated monthly benefit amount, beginning at age 67 in 2025, is $1,800.00
Your estimated monthly benefit amount, beginning at age 66 and 6 months in 2024, is $1,711.00
Your estimated monthly benefit amount, beginning at age 70 in 2028, is $2,302.00
Funny how that works.
Two of my closest Childhood Friends both died at age 61.
They didn’t get a dime after paying hundreds of thousands of dollars into the SS so called Trust Fund during their working lives.
The Family of one of them did get that big $255 to pay for the Flowers at his Memorial though.