Social Security

[Airehead]

when did they stop sending the yearly mailing with how much you had paid into Social Security?

[Page Turner]

...I think I'm still getting them. Maybe your address change misrouted yours.

[Airehead]

hmm, good point.  I tried to look at benefits on my social security but get a message that the pages cannot be found.  That is worrisome

[Page Turner]

4 minutes ago, Airehead said:

hmm, good point.  I tried to look at benefits on my social security but get a message that the pages cannot be found.  That is worrisome

...if you can ever get someone on the phone (which used to be impossible, but is supposed to be easier now), they will pull up and review your earnings record with you. It's a routine request. They don't usually have access to the two most recent years, though.........at least they didn't used to.

[Kirby]

I think you only get them in written form every 5 years now.  But you can set up a MySocialSecurity account and check online anytime.

I recall setting up the account required a lot of odd personal information to confirm it's you, so it's helpful to have a credit report handy.  They asked things like what kind of car I owned in a certain year.

[Longjohn ★]

I haven’t received any since I retired. ?

[Further]

I have social insecurity...

And some anti-social tendencies...

[2Far ★]

I got mine this year. (I think)

[jdc2000]

Got one today.  Of course they are assuming that there will still be any Social Security money by then.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

Please get this fixed quickly as I rely on you to keep mine flowing smoothly.  

[Prophet Zacharia]

11 hours ago, Kirby said:

I think you only get them in written form every 5 years now.  But you can set up a MySocialSecurity account and check online anytime.

I recall setting up the account required a lot of odd personal information to confirm it's you, so it's helpful to have a credit report handy.  They asked things like what kind of car I owned in a certain year.

I couldn’t pass my first attempt at my identity confirmation test. Old addresses were ok, old phone numbers were more challenging, and who owned what mortgage was probably where I lost it. The second time around I must have guessed better.

[bikeman564™]

not sure, but I do see what I pay into it weekly

[2Far ★]

7 minutes ago, bikeman564™ said:

not sure, but I do see what I pay into it weekly

And your employer matches that. Imagine all that money in an index fund or two over all those years.....

[The_Karen_Cooper_Incident]

4 hours ago, 2Far said:

Imagine all that money in an index fund or two over all those years.....

I still wouldn't get the money. 

I have no plans on receiving any sweet SS monies.  By the time I can retire I will either die at the keyboard or there won't be any money left because the Baby Boomers took it all. 

I plan on retiring in AWWC's basement dungeon. 

Shu Fang 

[Razors Edge ★]

15 minutes ago, Shu Fang said:

I have no plans on receiving any sweet SS monies. 

SS - if it exists in any way for me (15-20 yrs from now) - will be a nice little "bonus", but ABSOLUTELY has ZERO influence on my retirement planning.  The last couple generations have made SS a joke for the future.  

If folks here who are a while (10+ yrs) away from retiring, they need to be 100% covered by their OWN retirement planning - 401, IRAs, SEPs, 403, whatever - and NOT thinking the SS fairy will have them covered.  Social Security is the gonna be just like a "pension plan" - a rare and disappearing thing.

[Kzoo]

17 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

SS - if it exists in any way for me (15-20 yrs from now) - will be a nice little "bonus",

One thing to consider is that 15 -20 years form now the largest voting block will be those either on SS or very soon to be drawing SS.  This is a political issue as much as a financial issue.  The politics will be in play.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

Not in some years.  As with all investments, some (SS for one) should be maintained in a safe guaranteed place)  What you do with the rest of your retirement is up to you.  Putting SS into someone's fund is simply designed to make fund managers (big contributors on the political scene) more money.

Anything else is almost a guarantee that some folks SS will disappear.

[Razors Edge ★]

35 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

One thing to consider is that 15 -20 years form now the largest voting block will be those either on SS or very soon to be drawing SS.  This is a political issue as much as a financial issue.  The politics will be in play.

 

15-20 years from now, if we keep SS and Medicare, the US budget will consist of 4 things - Defense spending, Debt service, SS, and Medicare.  Nothing else. 

What's really scary about that idea is that if that's how the US budget looks, the economy of the US is not gonna be too rosy, so maybe holding your separate & private retirement fiances in US dollars will be risky enough that folks my age will take a double hit - no SS/Medicare/etc. AND an economy in a tailspin.  YAY!!! 

[maddmaxx ★]

How many boomers will be dead in 15 to 20 years?

[Kzoo]

6 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

How many boomers will be dead in 15 to 20 years?

All the dead ones.

 

[Razors Edge ★]

5 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

How many boomers will be dead in 15 to 20 years?

A lot.  I wonder how many are already dead.  Gen X is sort of a "small" generation so will struggle to keep the Ponzi scheme moving. The Millenials are a far bigger cohort and the Gen Z group seems to be the biggest in US history.  Now, getting them to pay taxes and prop the system up for the next 50 years is a HUGE ask.

[maddmaxx ★]

2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

A lot.  I wonder how many are already dead.  Gen X is sort of a "small" generation so will struggle to keep the Ponzi scheme moving. The Millenials are a far bigger cohort and the Gen Z group seems to be the biggest in US history.  Now, getting them to pay taxes and prop the system up for the next 50 years is a HUGE ask.

Ah......someone who admits that the problem isn't boomers taking out.......it's getting millenials off their asses and working two jobs.   

[Razors Edge ★]

1 minute ago, maddmaxx said:

Ah......someone who admits that the problem isn't boomers taking out.......it's getting millenials off their asses and working two jobs.   

The UNEMPLOYMENT IS AT RECORDS LOWS!!!!!

[maddmaxx ★]

1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

The UNEMPLOYMENT IS AT RECORDS LOWS!!!!!

Bridge for sale, contact Brooklyn agent.

[Page Turner]

10 hours ago, Shu Fang said:

By the time I can retire I will either die at the keyboard or there won't be any money left because the Baby Boomers took it all. 

[Page Turner]

9 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

  Now, getting them to pay taxes and prop the system up for the next 50 years is a HUGE ask.

 

[Scrapr ★]

18 hours ago, Kzoo said:

One thing to consider is that 15 -20 years form now the largest voting block will be those either on SS or very soon to be drawing SS.  This is a political issue as much as a financial issue.  The politics will be in play.

 

yabut....some pissant hipster is going to have to drive them to the polling place  

*can't use Uber on their flip phone

[late]

18 hours ago, Shu Fang said:

 

 there won't be any money left because the Baby Boomers took it all. 

 

There is no 'all'.

1) Social spending didn't get big until the 80s, which meant there was sky high military spending for 40 years before that. We've spent a LOT more on the empire.

2) Social Security is an easy fix. The politics are tough, because the rich have all the money and power. But fixing it is a piece of cake.

2a) You can fold SS into general revenues, problem fixed.

2b) You can do means testing, millionaires don't exactly need it.

2c) You can let SS run a debt. Once the Boomers are gone, SS will be running massive surpluses.

2d) You can combine these into a package that will reduce the amount people have to pay, increase benefits, and make the program financially secure.

[Tizeye]

Not sending it was cheaper than sending out a notice that your social security was cancelled.

[Page Turner]

...I don't know much about Social Security, but the damn government better stay out of my Medicare. 

[Kirby]

I probably won't get any because I just got a voicemail message that my social security was suspended  because of suspicious activity and I should just press "1" to learn more.  I'm sure it's legitimate because social security always contacts people by automated, anonymous  recordings  that don't mention your name rather than by mail. 

[MickinMD ★]

On 5/20/2019 at 7:08 PM, Airehead said:

when did they stop sending the yearly mailing with how much you had paid into Social Security?

They mail them to people 60 and older that haven't started collecting Soc.Sec. yet.

I think there's an app on the Soc.Sec. website where you can call up that information and get projections on how much you'd receive if you begin collected a various ages.

There used to be an app you could download, plug in the numbers from the mailed statement, and calculate what you'd get at any monthly age past 62 where you could put in zeros for future years if you retire early (as I did at 56) or estimate what your future income was.  At age 56, it calculated for me within $1/month of what I got after adding in the inflation adjustment for the intervening years.