Majority of American Seniors Would Live in Poverty if Not For Social Security

Ina said:
I just looked up what is considered the poverty level, and it is $11,770 or under for one person. You add $4,160 for each additional person in the household.

Just how do 'they' think that small amount is suppose to cover even the basics. Rent and utilities are generally more than that.
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You have to remember that these numbers are created by politicians and bureaucrats in Washington who have yearly incomes well into 6 digits. The closest any of them come to having to make a "financial" decision is whether to have a $25 T-Bone, or a $30 Filet Mignon tonight at their 5 star restaurant. The Washington hierarchy lives in a different world than the bulk of the people.
 

QuickSilver said:
I can attest to the fact that it's NOT as easy to get AND keep government assistance as some think it is. When my son became homeless and jobless in 2014.. he did apply and get food stamps ($250 a month) and Medicaid. I may add he had 10 years in the US Military and received housing through the VA in a homeless veterans shelter. They also helped him get a job and stay sober. The very month after he became employed, with an income over $1200 a month, he was removed from the rolls.. He also was given 2 months to find his own apartment.. The State and Feds keep track of income and assets.. SO I really find stories of people with money, or undocumented people collecting government assistance for years and years very hard to swallow.
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That's because those stories are urban myths -- it ain't easy to get those benefits, and they're not enough to live on.
 
Don M. said:
You have to remember that these numbers are created by politicians and bureaucrats in Washington who have yearly incomes well into 6 digits. The closest any of them come to having to make a "financial" decision is whether to have a $25 T-Bone, or a $30 Filet Mignon tonight at their 5 star restaurant. The Washington hierarchy lives in a different world than the bulk of the people.
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And that's a big part of the problem!
 

Warrigal said:
Compulsory superannuation contributions by all employers and optional additional contributions by employees, with a taxation incentive for investing, is what is ensuring that Australian seniors can afford to retire in future decades. That, plus a means tested aged pension system to make sure no-one falls below the poverty line.
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This is a great plan, and it would be very similar to what our SS deductions do. The problem is that some people fall through the holes with any plan the government makes.
Just using myself as an example.
I was a housewife and mother for most of my adult life, totally depending on my husband's SS benefit and his IBEW lineman's retirement benefit. We would never have been rich by any means; but we would have been able to live a comfortable life in retirement.
It was nowhere in the plan that he would leave me , taking all of those benefits with him.
Even though I did get a job and support myself after we were divorced; because I was unskilled, my jobs were mostly commission or minimum wage jobs; so by the time I reached the age to be able to get my SS pension, there was very little there.
I am sure that there are many women of my generation who are in the same circumstances as I was. Many women back then never worked outside of the house for all of their lives, and if their husband had SS, then they lived on that. If the husband died, then there was widow's benefits. Just no plan for if they got divorced.
 
My SIL collects 50% of her EX husbands SS benefits... they were divorced... but the marriage was over 20 years so maybe that's why.. Not sure... but I know for certain she still gets his... even now that he is deceased
 
In general women have poorer retirement prospects than men and this is now being recognised.
When divorce occurs the accumulated superannuation funds are taken into account when agreeing on a settlement.

Also, recognising that women's earning power over the long term is less because of child bearing and part time work while raising the family, one partner is allowed to top up the super fund of the other with taxation benefits. There are also tax benefits for voluntary contributions to one's own fund.

For people with little or no super to live on there is always the commonwealth aged pension which is well targeted through means testing of income and assets. Pension payments taper off gradually and most current retirees qualify for at least a part pension but in the future more Australians will be able to live on their own savings.
 
QuickSilver said:
My SIL collects 50% of her EX husbands SS benefits... they were divorced... but the marriage was over 20 years so maybe that's why.. Not sure... but I know for certain she still gets his... even now that he is deceased
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My sister does, too. Happyflowerlady, DO check with SS -- if your marriage was over 10 years (I think it is 10 years, might be 15), even if you are divorced you can get a percentage of his retirement. It doesn't affect the benefits HE gets, either So call 'em up and check. You may very well be missing out on benefits.
 
I too was a housewife and mother taking care of my children for many years. My husband and I moved to America thirty years ago. Shortly after we got here we got divorced because the marriage became intolerable and harmful to all of us. My husband continued to build up credits, but then, after accruing the minimum credits required, he left for England and remarried. When he left, I had $5000. As we came to the country when I was 53 and unskilled, I took a low paying clerical job with the County and retired when I was 62. My social security is very little and I had to substitute with home care jobs. I realize I could claim half of my husband's social security, but was told it would be the same amount that I am already collecting because he was not in the country for very long. So I am in quite a dire situation. I live alone and have no-one to help me financially or physically. I am almost 81 years of age and it is pretty scarey, but somehow I get by. The secret is not to project into the future and try not to think too much about the past, but just take a day at a time and trust and pray that some angel is watching out for me. Blessings and good luck to you Happyflowerlady. Maybe we can communicate again.
 
WHen my husband died a year ago, I went to the SS office with his death cretificate to show that his check needed to be canceled. As I had been on disability for two years, I wasn't expecting to get anything, but the SS agent in formed me that I was eligible for part of my husband's SS as long as we had been married at least 10 years. I recieved the difference between my disability check and his SS check. The amount was dependent on how much he had paid in. For our 47 years I had always made sure we both always claimed Single and no dependents. Before he died he recieved $2200 net monthly. When I reach 66, I will loose my disability and Mike SS checks, because I paid in like I had Mike do, but I also added an extra $50 biweekly to my SS account payments, so at 66 I will recieve more than my husband did.
 
That is awesome, Ina. We have both retirement/disability through the Army, and we are still able to work. We don't have SS yet, as we aren't anywhere close to retirement age.

We can work all we want but to keep the disability, of course, we can't do scary jobs that put us on ladders, or anything more than walking across a floor.

As a result, hubby is a security guard at a plant, and I work at Walmart, and my job as customer service manager doesn't involve heavy lifting.

Disability/retirement in my case is nearly 26 years in active duty with a few years' active reserves (2) included. We're better off in this situation. If we were on SS, we couldn't work too many hours and our income would be a whole lot less.

We've also added ourselves to a waiting list in a wonderful patio home/assisted living apartment/nursing home gated community for Army officers. That list is about 7 years long.

If we have to go early, that's okay.

But I have a question for you all: What happens if you work all your life and pay into SS and when it comes to needing assistance at the end of life, what happens then?

I'm terribly concerned about this. I did the "Adopt A Grandma" at one of our local nursing homes. Her name is Wanda; she has plenty of family all around, but she's 88 and none of her family comes to see her. She has SS and did have some savings, but they declared her incompetent when she was in the hospital with a triple bypass.

They're spending her savings on everything from TVs to cars, to computers to a new roof....and she isn't incompetent. Apparently when she was under the influence of pain meds, she signed her finances over to her sister, thinking she was going to die, and stated she wasn't in sound mind nor sound body.

What can I do, or help her to do? Can we reverse this? What will it take? Do I need to call my lawyer? I'll do it in a freaking heartbeat...what I am seeing is a bunch of people taking advantage of a little old lady....and I am NOT happy nor am I comfortable with this.

I promised I would come to y'all with issues. I hope y'all will help me and point me in the right direction.

Many purrs,
Joyce (Pookie)
 
Pookie, I don't know where you are located, but here in Texas, there is a group that you can report abuse of the elderly. See if there is such a group in your area. I know that down here you best be able to account for an elderly person's finances if you are that person's conservator. Hope that helps. :wave:
 
Pookie --laws about this kind of stuff vary by state. But here, and most places, there are free (or nearly so) Senior Citizens' Law Office places who give advice about stuff like this. Also, as Ina said there is sure to be a state agency that is a watchdog for the abuse of elderly persons.

I see you are in North Carolina -- I googled to find out about the state agency -- it is the NC Dept of Health and Human Services, and the senior division telephone number is 919-855-3400. The contact name is Suzanne Merrill -- they are in Raleigh. Tell them what's going on and they can either help you or tell you who else to contact.

Here's one senior legal aid place I found.
[h=2]Senior Law Project (SLP)[/h] Need help? Call the statewide North Carolina Senior Legal Helpline, toll free, at (877) 579-7562.

Legal Aid of North Carolina's Senior Law Project specifically serves clients that are 60 years of age or older. Special priority is given to seniors with the greatest economic or social need. Clients who are age 60 or older are exempt from income limitations and are eligible for our services.
[h=4]What can we help you with?[/h]
  • pointer.gif
    Simple Will; Living Will
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    Power of Attorney; Health Care Power of Attorney
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    Public Benefits:
    - Medicaid
    - Food Stamps
    - SSI/SSD
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    Abuse/Neglect
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    Unemployment Compensation
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    Housing Issues:
    - Landlord/Tenant (Eviction Defenses)
    - Subsidized Housing Rights
    - Tenant’s Repair Needs
    - Utilities
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    Consumer Issues
    - Mortgage Foreclosure
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    Wrongful Repossession


Hopefully they can help out or point you to someone who can.

I'm so glad you are helping out this lady. This kind of stuff happens to way too many older persons, and is, in my opinion, reprehensible behavior by the family.
 
Social Security, in its present form, is slated to remain stable for about 2 more decades....until somewhere around 2030-2035. After that, given the number of people that will be drawing on this program, some major changes will be in order. Raising the "Caps" now, would be the most sensible solution to keeping this valuable program functioning for future Seniors. Baring any actions being taken in the near future, SS benefits will begin to decline for those with any other sources of income. The good news is...Medicare will face severe financial troubles well before Social Security does....so how our government handles Medicare will be a pretty good indicator of what can be expected for SS in the future.
 

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