High earners/savers: How do you feel about social security?

[Anonymous]

DH and I just retired and have more money saved than planned and that we will ever need. The gains made during our working lifetime have been astronomical.

I would love Medicare or some form of it be for all. I am willing to pay more since our income is well above the norm. I would love a lower SS max and a higher SS minimum.

Right now, DH pays IRMA (or whatever the acronym is) with Medicare. Once my COBRA runs out, I will be on the marketplace and I don’t mind not having subsidies- I just want health insurance. I would like the subsidies to be in place for lower income individuals. I don’t mind not getting my “money’s worth” because that means I am not sick and I am well off. I think of insurance as something where I want to lose money, because that means I am still alive, I am not sick, my house did not burn down and I got to go on my trip.

I think our economy works better when there is not such a discrepancy between the rich and poor and there is not a K economy. I think our society works better too. We have e swung too far into unbridled capitalism and too far away from socialism. We need a bit of both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make a ridiculous amount of money and I don't consider SS at all. Wish paying into it was voluntary from the beginning. I would have much preferred to have kept that money and invested it on my own.

Really only a statement you can make based on 20/20 hindsight.

Once more though…your SS payments pay for current retirees, not your own.

The recipients of SS for its first 10+ years paid either zero into it or very little. It took until the 1970s for someone to have paid into SS for all their working years.

[Anonymous]

I would like to benefit from SS in a few years. I spent many years scraping by as a journalist, always paying into the system. Spouse and I are now pretty well set financially, but the thousands each month to which we will be entitled is not just chump change--it will pay for groceries, gas, home repairs, etc. It may even allow our investments to grow untouched, which is important because at least one of us will likely need assisted living.

[Anonymous]

I just want to collect whatever the current calculation is at that time. I want everyone to be treated the same. If the calculation has to be updated to fit current conditions, so be it. We’ll adjust. But I want the changes to be uniform across the board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to benefit from SS in a few years. I spent many years scraping by as a journalist, always paying into the system. Spouse and I are now pretty well set financially, but the thousands each month to which we will be entitled is not just chump change--it will pay for groceries, gas, home repairs, etc. It may even allow our investments to grow untouched, which is important because at least one of us will likely need assisted living.

And you like everyone who has paid in should be entitled to what they earned for sS. It's a program everyone pays into.
Just because you manage to save for retirement doesn't change that.

[Anonymous]

I’d be at peace with this if the program were solvent again. It’s not great to pay more and get a lower return, but it’s more important not to have seniors destitute. I can make other plans. The nice lady who bags my groceries really can’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like to benefit from SS in a few years. I spent many years scraping by as a journalist, always paying into the system. Spouse and I are now pretty well set financially, but the thousands each month to which we will be entitled is not just chump change--it will pay for groceries, gas, home repairs, etc. It may even allow our investments to grow untouched, which is important because at least one of us will likely need assisted living.

And you like everyone who has paid in should be entitled to what they earned for sS. It's a program everyone pays into.
Just because you manage to save for retirement doesn't change that.

You paid in to support current retirees. Future workers will pay in to support you as a retiree.

How many times does this need to be repeated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d be at peace with this if the program were solvent again. It’s not great to pay more and get a lower return, but it’s more important not to have seniors destitute. I can make other plans. The nice lady who bags my groceries really can’t.

This is how I feel.

I also think a lot of middle aged people benefit from their parents getting social security. In some cases it is the difference between a parent having a place to live and being able to feed themselves without relying on their adult child for support. In other cases the social security enables parents to leave a large inheritance to children and grandchildren than they otherwise would be able to. There are just a lot of ripple effects to having a system that ensures elderly people who can no longer work have some kind of basic income.

I find it so bizarre when people are like "well I don't personally need it so screw the whole program." Incredibly shortsighted and ignorant about how people are interconnected and what this would actually mean across society.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we are counting on it and will be pissed if this is ONE MORE THING that old people decide to screw Gen X on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like to benefit from SS in a few years. I spent many years scraping by as a journalist, always paying into the system. Spouse and I are now pretty well set financially, but the thousands each month to which we will be entitled is not just chump change--it will pay for groceries, gas, home repairs, etc. It may even allow our investments to grow untouched, which is important because at least one of us will likely need assisted living.

And you like everyone who has paid in should be entitled to what they earned for sS. It's a program everyone pays into.
Just because you manage to save for retirement doesn't change that.

You paid in to support current retirees. Future workers will pay in to support you as a retiree.

How many times does this need to be repeated.

I get that. But just because we were high earners and saved does not mean we shouldn't get our "SS support payout" for our retirement. Fact is everyone is entitled to their SS even if they were a higher earner

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are high income and I think we should pay a social security tax on ALL of our earnings, plus have a cap.

Why? I'm from a lower middle class background and have many elderly relatives who only have social security to support them on old age.

So why don't you help them personally if you feel the need?

I came from LMC/MC background and somehow my parents managed to save for retirement. They lived frugally and kept a budget and got a 2nd job if needed. But they now have a decent retirement.

Just don't get how you can expect to only live on SS in retirement. It was never intended for that. It's SUPPLEMENTAL, not "your only retirement plan"

It's not always that simple. DP - for my MIL she always worked minimum wage jobs, and at one point for a husband/ex husband who never paid into the system for her. She simply didn't know better. She had my husband young, barely got a high school diploma and struggled with good choices (she was a lovely person who I loved deeply). She got early onset dementia (as in her 60's) and we helped what we could but we didn't have a high income, special needs child and other issues. We were struggling ourselves. We eventually figured it out, moved her to us, I couldn't work to care for her and the kids (my income wasn't high enough) and eventually it got bad enough the only option was long-term care medicaid.

Many people live paycheck to paycheck and cannot save. My MIL had almost nothing materially and didn't eat well/proper nutrition to save money. I had to go out and buy her all the basics when she came to us. She never had more than a few outfits.

But you see my parents were living paycheck to paycheck as well. Neither had a college degree. Mom was SAHP until kids hit MS and they realized they needed to beef up retirement and help with college for us (at that point we got mega FA and my first 4 years total to school was about $6-8K total, I had to pay half and take max student loans in addition and pay all my fun money as well).
We lived thru the employed parent being laid off every 18-24 months for much of my life at home. So any savings were often partially depleted during that time as unemployment isn't enough. However, its easier when you chose to live well below your means---I was embarrassed to have friends over, never had AC until I went to college and beyond (we lived in areas that were hot and high humidiyt--most people had ac), our cars never had AC (ever!), we grew a garden to supply much of our food and only ate what we could afford otherwise (hello rice and beans for 2-3 meals per week). My mom made most of my clothing up to Middle school age from cheap material.
So my parents made choices to live very basic so they could survive. Once we went to college and beyond, they both worked, sometime 2nd jobs, to save enough for retirement. But never changed their lifestyle until retirement when they finally had enough to spend.

SO it is about choices. Most people are not willing to sacrifice. They expect others to help them rather than helping themselves

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like to benefit from SS in a few years. I spent many years scraping by as a journalist, always paying into the system. Spouse and I are now pretty well set financially, but the thousands each month to which we will be entitled is not just chump change--it will pay for groceries, gas, home repairs, etc. It may even allow our investments to grow untouched, which is important because at least one of us will likely need assisted living.

And you like everyone who has paid in should be entitled to what they earned for sS. It's a program everyone pays into.
Just because you manage to save for retirement doesn't change that.

You paid in to support current retirees. Future workers will pay in to support you as a retiree.

How many times does this need to be repeated.

I get that. But just because we were high earners and saved does not mean we shouldn't get our "SS support payout" for our retirement. Fact is everyone is entitled to their SS even if they were a higher earner

I agree with this. I think the math should be straightforward. You put in x/you get y without any other commentary.

Maybe there should be an option for those who wish to forgo their SS and a plan for how it could be used for the most needy. But that would be ripe for trouble and a hot mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This doesn’t seem like it will save any money. You basically get the highest benefit by waiting til 70 to take the benefit. Once people know their benefit is capped they’ll just claim earlier. So, yes, they will get a lower annual benefit but they will start getting paid earlier. So unless social security hasn’t properly adjusted the age 70 payout, it doesn’t seem like this would save much.

He said it would only affect the top 0.05%. They aren’t worrying about social security.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like to benefit from SS in a few years. I spent many years scraping by as a journalist, always paying into the system. Spouse and I are now pretty well set financially, but the thousands each month to which we will be entitled is not just chump change--it will pay for groceries, gas, home repairs, etc. It may even allow our investments to grow untouched, which is important because at least one of us will likely need assisted living.

And you like everyone who has paid in should be entitled to what they earned for sS. It's a program everyone pays into.
Just because you manage to save for retirement doesn't change that.

You paid in to support current retirees. Future workers will pay in to support you as a retiree.

How many times does this need to be repeated.

[Anonymous]

At this point we’ve been paying in so long we definitely expect to be paid out. People who made high incomes should not be punished for doing so.