Lethe200
Senior Member
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area
>>this is money you paid in 100%, it is not a ''federal benefit check,'' or government money it is our money.. The government has been taking our retirement money and using it as if it was their money for years,>>
This is a common misconception. SocSec was always "pay as we go" - that was how, when the program first began, the seniors who had never paid into SS, became eligible to receive a SS check (or FBC, if you prefer) to begin with.
Current workers are paying into the SS Trust Fund which pays out benefits to eligible seniors.
If you are retired, the 6.5% SS deduction (your employer paid the remaining 6.5%) from your previous paychecks went to pay for benefits paid out to then-current retirees.
That is why a low birthrate is so concerning to any pension/annuity actuary - you need those future workers to be paying into the system for today's 'just-started' retirees.
One reason that the periodic calls for SS "privatization" are so concerning, is that the SS Trust Fund is a separately-funded government entity. When politicians talk about removing "entitlements", it is incorrect to lump SS and Medicare in, because those are funded NOT by government budget, but by worker taxes.
IF SS and Medicare were "privatized" 100% - the chances for which I would hope, are doubtful - the money in those two separate trust funds would, in such case, be added to the Federal budget - but ONLY if that happens.
This is a common misconception. SocSec was always "pay as we go" - that was how, when the program first began, the seniors who had never paid into SS, became eligible to receive a SS check (or FBC, if you prefer) to begin with.
Current workers are paying into the SS Trust Fund which pays out benefits to eligible seniors.
If you are retired, the 6.5% SS deduction (your employer paid the remaining 6.5%) from your previous paychecks went to pay for benefits paid out to then-current retirees.
That is why a low birthrate is so concerning to any pension/annuity actuary - you need those future workers to be paying into the system for today's 'just-started' retirees.
One reason that the periodic calls for SS "privatization" are so concerning, is that the SS Trust Fund is a separately-funded government entity. When politicians talk about removing "entitlements", it is incorrect to lump SS and Medicare in, because those are funded NOT by government budget, but by worker taxes.
IF SS and Medicare were "privatized" 100% - the chances for which I would hope, are doubtful - the money in those two separate trust funds would, in such case, be added to the Federal budget - but ONLY if that happens.