Hi, All.
I've read from AARP and from other relevant sources that Congress threatens to cut Social Security benefits 20% to all retirees and future retirees in the year 2034 to balance their federal government budgets. If this should happen, what will happen to the millions of our USA citizens who rely on this as our only income? It's bad and cannot happen to us who have worked all our lives for these vital lifeline benefits.
I will turn 79 that year and am scared I may struggle to pay my bills if Congress cuts 20% from my annual income of only about $29,000. Please help with your opinions.
"pension money is paid for everyone else who don't get pensions"
You pay into a pension you get a pension. You do not pay into the pension you do not get the pension.
Add to that that anyone that has worked and paid into Social Security if they also have had a job with the Government and paid into a pension generally they do not get Social Security. OR if they worked and paid into a pension and had a spouse that worked and paid into Social Security if that spouse dies they do not get any of that Social Security.
There is a pension off set that pretty much takes dollar for dollar from the Social Security check.
Now, will the program fail eventually down the line? I suspect we will all be dead first, but it may if our country gets into trouble. So let's do all we can to keep her strong.
I hope the admins will move your question to "Discussions" because it will last longer there, and it is interesting question for sure.
37% for incomes over $539,900 ($647,850 for married couples filing jointly)
I think those rich people with over $500k in annual incomes should not be eligible to collect any Social Security benefits unless their income level falls into an annual $500k or less, or their care level expenses exceed what their income is bringing in at $500 or more. That will also help with Medicaid eligibility. Make Congress think!
Don't vote Republican if you're worried about it.
Depending on your health one never knows what old age will bring.
Even eating healthy and getting lots of exercise is no guarantee. Because life happens and the reality is the masses don't earn enough to save millions needed to live into your nineties or hundreds.
Social Security was not intended to be the only source of income after retirement. It is/was to be a Supplemental Income.
We are also outliving what the "normal" life span was back when it began. (August 1935)
Life expectancy in the 1930's for men, late 50's and women, early 60's.
Now we have people living WELL past 50's and 60's, probably add another 30 to 40 years to that.
Population of the USA in 1935 was 127,250,232
Population of the USA in 2022 is 332,403,650
People can not and should not rely on Social Security for their retirement.
Cutting benefits is one option or increasing the contribution that one pays is another.
And there is a great number of people that have paid into the Social Security pool and will NOT get payments.
Editing this..
contribution to Social Security in 1935 was 4.21% of taxable income in 2022 it is 6.20%
The first payment was for $0.17 in Jan 1937
The average now is $1,657 per month in 2022
I wish you luck for your future welfare. Just hang in there with prayers.
In addition, if anyone does not work for the same employer long enough for a decent(?) pension or saved enough while earning wages, more trouble comes down the road.
With over 40 years of employment, I never worked 30 years anywhere, and the average job lasted about 3 to 4 years until in1987 I landed a good banking job way before the Great Recession in 2008. I got laid off from that good banking job in 2012 after 25 years of service, 5-plus years short of my 30 year goal. I was forced to take some of my 401(k) contributions at age 56 because of long unemployment to just pay my bills for a single person household, even with family contributions. I had finally landed a minimum wage job in 2015, got laid off from it in 2020, then worked a temporary USPS plant processing job in 2020 and another minimum wage job in 2021 until I retired late last year with mostly SSA for my income.
The reality is social security payments were based on life expectancy of seniors so most seniors would never live long enough to get social security or only be on social security for a few years before they died.
Many seniors are living into their nineties or hundreds and this makes social security unsustainable as these seniors are requiring and get expensive medical interventions to keep them alive and warehoused as the living dead in nursing homes. You have elderly with dementia getting cancer treatments and pacemakers just as examples.
Something has to give and since seniors offer no real value from a financial standpoint in our society and to the government it makes sense that they would cut funding in this area. This entire world is about money.
Our veteran expenses r also going up as more of them r likely to survive it cost less money to bury them after war... The obvious problem is medicine, medicine has surpassed the economy and greed.