Public Policy of Social Security and Retirement Savings Essay

Social Security has been a very beneficial government program for elderly people, and those whom they support, when being an active member in the workforce is no longer an option for reasons such as old age, disability, or death. Destruction of the program, or worse, lack of the aid, would be catastrophic. Without it, it could leave many senior citizens that can no longer

Perhaps no group has as much at stake in the debate over Social Security reform as African Americans. Elderly African Americans are much more likely than their white counterparts to be dependent on Social Security benefits for most or all of their retirement income. Yet Social Security benefits are inadequate to provide for the retirement needs of the elderly poor, which leaves nearly 30 percent of African-American seniors in poverty.

In “The Social Security Problem”, Max Moore discusses the fearful reality of Social Security running out of funds. He states that the U.S. Department of the Treasury predicts that Social Security funds will run out by 2041 and action must be taken in order to prevent this (134). In his essay, he explains how the depletion of Social Security funds are a result from a decreasing retirement age, decreasing fertility rate, and shrinking work force. These things contribute to an increased population relying on Social Security, an increased population of the elderly, and a decreased ratio of workers paying for those beneficiaries (135). Moore explains the proposal of George W. Bush to make Social Security partially privatized; allowing young workers to invest their retirement savings into their own account. This would result in people putting their retirement on the line in

I believe the United States has an economic dilemma when it comes to social security and Medicare. As our textbook states, social security is drastically underfunded. It also says that Medicare is underfunded as well. I have listened to people who talk about how there will not be enough money in social security after the millennial generation. If this is true, then my generation and other generations after me will be in a terrible situation when they can retire. Medicare, a government, insured health insurance program, is also a matter of concern. Since the Medicare fund is underfunded at a high level, people who would need the help of their Medicare plan could potentially backfire. If the funding for Medicare does not reach a level where you would not have to worry about the quality of the care, then potential health risks could become much worse without adequate resources used to treat and prevent them.

It will leave my generation, our children and grandchildren, with back breaking taxes, which will have its own domino effect of causing ever increasing inflation (Trust). To be eligible for Social Security, which once was at age sixty-two for full benefits and now is age sixty-six and soon will be sixty-seven and as the years go by who knows what the retirement age will be for us (SSA). Social Security is paid through payroll taxes which pay for the benefits of today’s retirees (SSA). Money in excess of what is needed to pay today’s benefits is invested in special treasury bonds. This system works well when there is a rather high ratio of workers to beneficiaries or retirees. For instance, in 1960, there were 5.1 workers for every Social Security recipient or retiree, but the demographics are changing because Americans are living longer and are having fewer children (Crane). Today, there are 3.3 workers paying Social Security payroll taxes for every one person collecting Social Security benefits (Crane). That number will drop to 2 to 1 in less than forty years (Crane). At this ratio there will not be enough workers to pay scheduled benefits at currents tax rates. The last reason why social

For many years the social security program has been operating successfully. In recent times however, it is becoming apparent to some that social security is in need of reform. Their argument is that with the amount of people getting older in the next couple of decades, there will not be enough money left in the social security reserves to pay for everyone who needs it. That is why the idea of separating social security up into private funds has been brought to the attention of the American citizens. This idea of reform has been around for quite a long time; however it has been pushed on by pro reform supporters more in recent times because they think it is necessary for the

The social security act was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt so that he could put in place provisions in order to help the elderly. The social security act a document that helps impoverished citizens, such as the elderly and physically impaired receive benefits after retirement. Citizens’ in America during the great depression where expected to work weather elderly or physically disabled. These citizens weren’t afforded the financial stability to retire so work was a necessity to acquire money. “Prior to social security, the elderly routinely faced the prospect of poverty upon retirement” (U.S SSA). This effect of the great depression led to a lot death and homes turning into singled parent homes with no income. “The widespread

It will leave my generation, our children and grandchildren, with back breaking taxes, which will have its own domino effect of causing ever increasing inflation. To be eligible for Social Security, which once was at age sixty-two for full benefits and now is age sixty-six and soon will be sixty-seven and as the years go by who knows what the retirement age will be for us. Social Security is paid through payroll taxes which pay for the benefits of today’s retirees. Money in excess of what is needed to pay today’s benefits is invested in special treasury bonds. This system works well when there is a rather high ratio of workers to beneficiaries or retirees. For instance, in 1960, there were 5.1 workers for every Social Security recipient or retiree, but the demographics are changing because Americans are living longer and are having fewer children. Today, there are 3.3 workers paying Social Security payroll taxes for every one person collecting Social Security benefits. That number will drop to 2 to 1 in less than forty years. At this ratio there will not be enough workers to pay scheduled benefits at currents tax rates. The last reason why social Security is unstable is because the government does not guarantee the benefits. According

     Social Security is a public program designed to provide income and services to individuals in the event of retirement, sickness, disability, death, or unemployment. In the United States, the word social security refers to the programs established in 1935 under the Social Security Act. Societies throughout history have devised ways to support people who cannot support themselves. In 1937 the government began issuing Social Security identification cards to all citizens. Each card had a unique number that the government used to keep track of a person’s earnings and the taxes collected from those earnings that went to finance Social Security benefits. The Social Security Act is an act in which

Roosevelt and his Economic Crisis Committee, in 1935, came up with the simple idea of providing benefits to the generation of retired workers from tax money of currently working generation. Roosevelt put this straightforward idea into the system to make it work, and it surprisingly has worked out well so far. When the bill became a law in 1935, there were many people who were affected by the Great Depression and sought financial aid. Unlike the bank money that goes in loans and still depositor have access to the money; Social Security System passes out collected money immediately into benefits (“Social Security System”). This way, the working generation will always provide enough money to the fund. Rather than providing money from government fund, idea of benefiting citizens from their own money didn’t receive

     There is much-heated debate on the issues of Social Security today. The Social Security system is the largest government program of income distribution in the United States. People are concerned that they won't see a dime of what they worked so hard to contribute into the Social Security system for so many years. Social Security provides benefits to about forty-three million Americans. Not only to retired workers, but also to their spouses and dependents of the workers who die prematurely. It also provides benefits to disabled workers and their dependents. Social Security appears to most people like a simple retirement saving’s account. After all, you generally

To understand what the retirement earning test is and how it works, you must first understand how social security works. Social security in the United States of America is a program run by the government that provides income to millions of Americans who cannot work due to retirement, disability, or death (nasi.org). However the true function of Social Security is to provide supplemental income to people after retirement. It roughly replaces 40% of average worker’s income after retirement, requiring many social security receivers to continue working after their normal retirement age. How it works essentially is workers’ pay part of their income into a pool, that immediately gets disbursed to citizens getting benefits right now. They sacrifice a slice of their paycheck in the present, to be able to claim benefits when they go into retirement. The social security system has been changed constantly over the years. One thing that has not changed over the years, is the ability to claim benefits early.

The Social Security System Act was established in the year of 1935 not expecting the baby boomers to be born from the years 1946 through 1964. This is a dilemma because of declining birth rates and increased life expectancy, there are now only three age stratification workers for each beneficiary, and soon there will be only two because the elderly will retire. The system will not be able to support itself with such few workers to pay for so many beneficiaries.

Planning for retirement should not be based on Social Security alone, but rather by saving portions of personal earned wages and putting finances into long-term investments. Depending on Social Security as the only income after retiring is an unsafe and undependable way to prepare for retirement. People who contribute to Social Security are mandatorily putting money into the Social Security Reserve; this money is used for older generations that will file for these benefits before the younger people working, in the early 21 century, ever receive a chance. Money controlled by other’s hands will never be a guarantee for a secure future, yet money saved by an individual to put toward personal goals will reward greatly. By taking the time to

(5) Currently SS funds are collected and distributed on a pay - as - you -go (PAYG) system in which Social Security taxes from individuals are immediately distributed by the means of the SS Administration as it sees best fit. This means that taxes collected are not reserved for the individual who has paid them: in Rose 2 the current state he or she must rely on those persons paying SS taxes during the time of their retirement (Becker). For a number of these characteristics and future issues, the Social Security System must be reformed or completely abolished to meet the needs of tomorrow. The leading concerns of Social Security that merits the immediate initiation of reform are the demographic and economic circumstances in the coming century. Even though "forecasting the economy and budget over such a long period is uncertain" there remain many "certainties" regarding problems facing Social Security in the first half of the 21st century (OMB, Budget Perspectives 23). The Federal Government's responsibilities extend well beyond "the five- or six-year window" that has restricted the focus of recent budget analysis and debate. Of these "certainties" are the mounting challenges posed from the baby-boomer generation. This generation, born in the years after World War II, is aging