Agreed. I've been paying into SS for 25 years, and I have absolutely no expectation it will be there for me when I retire.
I would rather the government allow us to opt-out of SS. This would completely eliminate any possible use of it for those of us who make this decision. That would free up a substantial amount of money for me to invest elsewhere, and the returns would be far and away better than what I would ever expect from SS.
“I would rather the government allow us to opt-out of SS. This would completely eliminate any possible use of it for those of us who make this decision.”
I see your point but there needs to be a mandatory program for citizens in order for the less disciplined among us to at least partially secure their future. It can be both mandatory as well as free from gov’t control if legislated properly.
I did a present value calculation when I retired using only a 3% annual rate of return {far less than I earned in my 401K accounts} and if I had invested that money at that rate, for those 48 years, I would have had a lump sum of $3,300,000.00 instead of the paltry coupla grand a month until death.
I would have to live to be over 200 years old, JUST TO BREAK EVEN.
Social security sucks, but since I paid, MORE THAN MY FAIR SHARE, I want to collect my crumbs.
Even when I don't need the money, I'd rather collect it and give it away to my choice of charity, than to let the feds keep it.
If I think about the amount that the feds are taking from high earners, my blood boils, but there is no relief without a bloody revolution, {and I am not for that, not yet}.