Living only on social security

Remy said:
As I had posted in another thread, they take your highest 35 years of earnings.
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Those are the bare basics, but thankfully there is more to it such as indexing. And each year you can defer taking distributions after your full retirement age you get 8% more compounded until age 70.

Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME)

When we compute an insured worker's benefit, we first adjust or "index" his or her earnings to reflect the change in general wage levels that occurred during the worker's years of employment. Such indexation ensures that a worker's future benefits reflect the general rise in the standard of living that occurred during his or her working lifetime.

Up to 35 years of earnings are needed to compute average indexed monthly earnings. After we determine the number of years, we choose those years with the highest indexed earnings, sum such indexed earnings, and divide the total amount by the total number of months in those years. We then round the resulting average amount down to the next lower dollar amount. The result is the AIME.
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That's just the start though, so read all of the article here: Social Security Benefit Amounts
 

stretch5881 said:
This is one of the many subjects that should be taught in high school.
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I'm not sure what you want them to teach.

They teach proficiency in reading and arithmetic. Absorbing the teaching and applying it is up to you. We aren't trick ponies "trained" for the entire act of life.

People don't really expect that, do they? Where would it end? How many years do you want to be "in training" for life, anyway?

You are already supposed to know this stuff, or at least where to find it and have the ability to interpret it.

What scares me most is the assumption that everyone is competent to vote too. No wonder we're in such trouble.
 

Well I worked and paid taxes and my SS is still low and part of it comes from my husband's benefit. It was still low so the SS worker suggested I supplement it with SSI. Which I did. Not a lot but enough and NY state has a supplement you get get if you qualify for the SSI. Add subsidized housing (my wait was only 3 weeks) and I get other benefits as well. So I do not feel poor at all. I have a great apartment and my rent is very low. No vehicle though. If I had one I would feel poor. Most of the benefits I get are age related.
 
The Æsop for Children
The Ants & the Grasshopper

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
the-ants-and-the-grasshopper.jpg


"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

There's a time for work and a time for play.​
 
I have been living on social security for 10 years and am doing fine. I have 2 bills beside my rent that are Spectrum at 145 and electric which is around 80 monthly year round. I eat very well, have no taxes and use Medicare. I have a housekeeper that is 200 a month. I save between 800 and a thousand a month.

Trick to doing all this is: I do not own a car so have none of the dollar outflow that goes with it. I don't need a car as I live close to my little town. To obtain food I use Instacart which is cost effective. To go anywhere I use a sponsered free taxi here in town.

I do not use a cell phone. I use a non corded landline which is bundled with tv and internet. Most of my calls are business or for rides so I am good with that. More savings, a lot more per month. I have a fat savings acct and I use it to buy high end art. I will only buy listed artists so I purchase maybe 2 per year, sometimes none.

Except for the pain I have (RA) I am extremely peaceful and very happy. All this came from taking a hard look at what I thought I needed and what I really needed.
 
dusty said:
I have been living on social security for 10 years and am doing fine. I have 2 bills beside my rent that are Spectrum at 145 and electric which is around 80 monthly year round. I eat very well, have no taxes and use Medicare. I have a housekeeper that is 200 a month. I save between 800 and a thousand a month.

Trick to doing all this is: I do not own a car so have none of the dollar outflow that goes with it. I don't need a car as I live close to my little town. To obtain food I use Instacart which is cost effective. To go anywhere I use a sponsered free taxi here in town.

I do not use a cell phone. I use a non corded landline which is bundled with tv and internet. Most of my calls are business or for rides so I am good with that. More savings, a lot more per month. I have a fat savings acct and I use it to buy high end art. I will only buy listed artists so I purchase maybe 2 per year, sometimes none.

Except for the pain I have (RA) I am extremely peaceful and very happy. All this came from taking a hard look at what I thought I needed and what I really needed.
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I agree. Wants vs needs. I have always tried to live below my means. It makes for a stress free life. Before we got divorced my ex was pressuring me to buy a million dollar home in the foothills like her friends had. So glad I didn’t give in to that. It would have only made her happy for a short while. Never content with anything for long. As my friend from Missouri used to put it - “some people are that-a-way”.
 
I make 999 dollars a month from social security. No way i can even live under a bridge in Utah once my husband dies. I will get his social security, of course, but it’s not enough either. This is why I must get my VA benefits.

It’s not only the money. It’s the medical. I am diabetic. I take Tradjenta. With my other disabilities this is the best med for me. My husband insurance has stopped paying for it. A 30 day supply is 541 dollars. More than half my social security a month. There are four other medications the insurance stopped paying for and i cant afford them. But I need tradjenta.

My doctor has prescribed a different med and i got it. But it is hard on the kidneys, making me sick, and I only have one kidney and i am in stage 3 failure. I need the tradjenta. What to do? Well, i finally got VA benefits. Thank you lawyer.

I went Monday and signed up for the ID card and health insurance with the VA. Once that is processed and i get my ID card and an appointment with a doctor, i can get a prescription for tradjenta. The prescription will cost 11 dollars.
 
Elsie said:
I'm a taxpayer paid free loader ever since no one would hire someone (like me) who is so shaky they are unable to even stuff an envelope without mangling it. After my divorce, and my shaking spread throughout my body, I had to quit my keypunch job. So no income for me & my 3 children, but seeing my dilemma, a social worker led me to sign up for rental assistance and FOOD SHARE. I qualified to receive both. So here am I in my so-so apt., that I once shared with my children, gratefully living off of taxpayer funds. (But NOT proud of having to do so.) Thanks to you taxpayers. ❤️
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Happy to pay taxes to keep government running and help those in need.
 
If we had to live on our combined SS, I think we could. It would mean drastic changes, but we could get by. We are in our early 70s so I imagine we could also supplement the SS with part time jobs. Luckily we don't have to.

I know about grasshoppers and ants, but there are some people who never had a chance and some hit by bad luck. Everybody should have food, shelter and clothing at a bare minimum.
 
Aneeda72 said:
I make 999 dollars a month from social security. No way i can even live under a bridge in Utah once my husband dies. I will get his social security, of course, but it’s not enough either. This is why I must get my VA benefits.

It’s not only the money. It’s the medical. I am diabetic. I take Tradjenta. With my other disabilities this is the best med for me. My husband insurance has stopped paying for it. A 30 day supply is 541 dollars. More than half my social security a month. There are four other medications the insurance stopped paying for and i cant afford them. But I need tradjenta.

My doctor has prescribed a different med and i got it. But it is hard on the kidneys, making me sick, and I only have one kidney and i am in stage 3 failure. I need the tradjenta. What to do? Well, i finally got VA benefits. Thank you lawyer.

I went Monday and signed up for the ID card and health insurance with the VA. Once that is processed and i get my ID card and an appointment with a doctor, i can get a prescription for tradjenta. The prescription will cost 11 dollars.
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Aneeda72 is that really you? :)
Long time no see.....
 
dilettante said:
I'm not sure what you want them to teach.

They teach proficiency in reading and arithmetic. Absorbing the teaching and applying it is up to you. We aren't trick ponies "trained" for the entire act of life.

People don't really expect that, do they? Where would it end? How many years do you want to be "in training" for life, anyway?

You are already supposed to know this stuff, or at least where to find it and have the ability to interpret it.

What scares me most is the assumption that everyone is competent to vote too. No wonder we're in such trouble.
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A semester on personal finance would be a good start.
Up to 12th grade should be teaching you for life once you're an adult.
 
C50 said:
I haven't touched any retirement or investment money in the six years I've been receiving SS. I'm not living poor either, I spend money on trips and home projects often and still stay ahead financially, but it sure helped to go into retirement debt free.

I am thinking it's time for a new car so my experiment in frugality will have to start again after that purchase.
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Debt is a luxury that the average person should avoid. I built three houses on my own and emerged with a home of my own without a mortgage, but even owning a home free and clear comes with expenses. Taxes and insurance payments alone would be more than most SS could easily cover. I was out of debt before I retired, and the difference that made for me still surprises me. It was like going from borderline poverty to having left over money.
 
My huzz's Social Security payment is only $200/month. Yes, he worked full-time from his 18th birthday, and around his 30th birthday, after hard work studying nights, got a certificate that put him in a good paying position at the same place of employment, even though it was blue collar.

So why is his Soc. Sec. so low? Because the bosses--may they rot--at that place put out a notice to all the employees saying, "Hey you know what? It's silly for us to withdraw for Social Security from your checks. So why don't we stop doing that and you'll have a bigger paycheck. So go into the Personnel Office and vote for us to stop withdrawing Social Security from your checks and this'll be better because you can invest that extra and if you invest wisely, have more money when you retire than you'd get from Soc. Sec." (Yeah, right, like a bunch of 20 year olds are gonna invest wisely; gimme a break.)

So Huzz and the other union representatives ran around to all the employees and convinced them to vote "no." They told the guys, "Oh yeah, it sounds great now to have extra money, but you probably won't invest wisely, you'll just spend it and when you're old and retired wish you had that Social Security check coming in." And it worked; enough workers voted "no."

So the bosses were angry and waited a while and tried sending out another letter and Huzz and the other union guys ran all over again and got all the workers to vote "no" again.

Welp, the bosses--may they rot forever--decided they knew how to fix this: they put in with the next paychecks that came out a teeny, tiny, little slip of paper saying the same thing, except that unless the workers went in person to the Personnel Office and voted "No" there, they would be considered to have voted "yes" to doing away with the Soc. Sec. withdrawal.

Unfortunately, Huzz and the other Union guys only found out about it 'till about 2 hours before the Personnel Office closed and weren't able to get ahold of enough of the workers to go in and vote "no" in time. So they stopped taking Soc. Sec. out of Huzz's and all the other workers checks from then on; Huzz had had enough quarters of it being withdrawn from his checks so he could get the minimum amount but anyone hired at that place after, and if it's the only place they ever worked, will not be getting Social Security.

So the TLDR summary of this? Never trust a boss; watch 'em every minute and UNIONS YES!
 
About 30 years ago, stocks were the place to be, and politicians were pushing getting rid of SS so people could buy their own stocks. This would have expanded the stock bubble even bigger, assuming everyone with money was rushing to buy stocks. Then the stock market tanked, which it so often does. That was during the dot.com crash, and many people lost their shirts. The idea of getting rid of SS was dropped without a bit of fanfare. During a market bubble people forget history. Low wage earners don't have enough money to invest in retirement, at least not enough to make a difference.
 
dilettante said:
I'm not sure what you want them to teach.

They teach proficiency in reading and arithmetic. Absorbing the teaching and applying it is up to you. We aren't trick ponies "trained" for the entire act of life.

People don't really expect that, do they? Where would it end? How many years do you want to be "in training" for life, anyway?

You are already supposed to know this stuff, or at least where to find it and have the ability to interpret it.

What scares me most is the assumption that everyone is competent to vote too. No wonder we're in such trouble.
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Do they still teach economics?
 
Aunt Bea said:
Saving and investing is easy, the challenge is leaving the money alone and letting it compound and grow for half a century until retirement.

I’m not sure how you teach that.
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It can be taught, but it's up to the person whether or not they choose to use the knowledge. They can't implement it if they don't know about it.
 
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