Social Security has been around since 1935 and for generations many Americans have depended on these programs for retirement or in the event of permanent disability. Recent news articles lead Americans to believe that Social Security is in financial trouble that the taxes it depends upon to finance the programs for retirement, disability, and medical care soon will not be enough (Huffington post,2010). In part because of the large numbers of people reaching retirement age, this has left a large number of people wondering if they can depend on Social Security for retirement. The answer to this dilemma is not to rely on Social Security for retirement. Depending on Social Security for retirement is like risking everything on one endeavor. …show more content…
Americans must take the responsibility for their retirement into their own hands. The number of retired workers account for 69% of the total benefits paid out. The information on the fact sheet shows that 52 % of the workforce has no private pension another 31% has no savings plan (SSA.org). This means that 82% of the population could be without retirement funds available to them if Social security goes broke.
It would make more sense to plan for retirement by putting away funds in a retirement account or a savings account. This could earn interest over the years and make a nice retirement account. Most Americans want to live out the retirement years in the comfort and security of their own homes. Financial planning can turn this into a reality, making it possible for healthy retirees to stay in their home and not have to give up the possessions that they have worked so hard all their lives .
Recent news has shown that politicians want to shift the responsibility on the issue of Social security; no one can find a reasonable way to fix the problems that have come into the light (New York Times August 14, 2010). The politicians keep putting off the inevitable fact that someone will have to take the responsibility and face what years of neglect have caused. Depending on the government, for retirement is not an option that Americans can depend on, the governments own trustees are telling Americans that Social Security is not reliable as a retirement
Our nation ensures social welfare through Social Security. However, the United States cannot ensure the welfare of its own welfare system. To save Social Security, Americans in general do not favor an increase in the payroll tax, a cut in benefits or an increase in the retirement age. Furthermore, Americans are relying upon Social Security as their sole source of income at increasingly alarming rates. Social Security is intended to supplement retiree income, not account for 100% of it. Through elimination of the potential options, that leaves one necessary action: invest the Social Security trust fund in the stock market.
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
We could save the Social Security Program, if we engaged in some simple changes. There could be some slight changes in the retirement age area and in the Taxes area. According to the Article "Modest Changes Could save Social Security Program" written by Stephen Ohlemacher, he clearly stated that employees are 100% grantee for an full retirement benefit package once the hit the age of sixty-six. It will later rises to the age of sixty-seven for elders that was born in 1960 or later. In addition, employees are able to receive an early retirement at the age of sixty-two, although their retirement benefits would have been reduced (Ohlemacher). Some changes we can apply to the retirement age, is that we could slightly increase the retirement age until it reaches seventy in the year 2027, which would eliminate some shortfall in the program. Secondly, there should be a three-year increase in the early retirement age,
Hoffman, M. R., & McKenzie, K. S. (2014). The Reality of Social Security: If Reform Doesn't Happen, What Must Each of Us Do?. Journal Of Accounting & Finance (2158-3625), 14(2), 124-134.
Social Security Provides Important Retirement Benefits: According to the Social Security Administration, nine out of 10 Americans over the age of 65 receive retirement
Currently, the United States is contemplating at a forthcoming Social Security crisis. If changes are not forged, the Social Security system will not be able to keep up with the demanded payouts and is estimated to empty the trust fund around the year 2037. In this paper I will review a brief history of the Social Security program, touch upon the eligibility requirements, discuss what economists believe about the future of the Social Security Program, and finally state the Pros and Cons to the proposed raising of the age requirement for minimum payout.
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
It’s a matter of either losing all that you have worked for and live in poverty when retired or allowing your hard earned dollars to grow and have a secure comfortable retirement. I believe that Social Security is a doomed Government Program and that Privatization of Social Security would allow for a more secure retirement plan for all Americans. Social Security was first created to help aging Americans in their senior years so they would not end up in poverty. Social Security was signed in as law on August 14, 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was fully operating by 1940. Originally a retirement program, but Social Security now includes survivor benefits, disability benefits and Medicare and all together is the largest
Social Security is a system that is prevailing in several nations for their citizens’ welfare, which was initiated in the US in 1930’s. It is interesting to see how it has transformed in the hands of some of the US presidents. Ever since it was originated, it has been on the ramp getting modified constantly in such a way that it meets the needs of the Americans.
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
For over 80 years social security has provided Americans with money after they reach the minimum age requirement. This money has provided retirement money for millions of people across the country but is now in jeopardy. To get an understanding of the current and future situation of social security it’s important to understand what social security is, when it was created, why it was created, and also how it has performed since it was created. After getting an understanding of social security I will then talk about the current state of social security including problems with it and the different arguments that are being made about what should be done with social security. The problems and current situation of social security will also be
Many people have many different views about the federal government and its role in our economy. Some people feel that the government should have very little control over the state, while some believe the federal government is fine and acts as a security blanket. Americans love the idea of knowing they are “safe;” safe physically, mentally, and financially. A man named Robert Kiyosaki once said, “When President George W. Bush attempted to reform Social Security, that proposal was more unpopular with Americans than the Iraq War. People love their entitlements.” No matter what a person’s views are about the role of the federal government, a numerous amount of people will still be interested in collecting Social Security when they reach the age of retirement. There is much controversy about this act, and many times people have tried to reform it but it somehow always fell short.
The United States Social security program should be privatized because of its current financial instability and the increased positive benefits to its recipients. Transitioning the publicly ran Social Security services to a privately operated system would be too expensive for the U.S government. The U.S Social Security system is very complex and is an important aspect of many elderly Americans lives. Social Security is too big of an organization to turn into a privately funded organization effectively. As of 2009, Social Security’s reserves were predicted at 2.6 trillion dollars (“Social Security”).
The Social Security System is in need of a new reform; our current system was not designed for the age stratification we have at this time. The U.S. Social Security Administration Office of Policy states, “The original Social Security Act, signed into law on August 14, 1935, grew out of the work of the Committee on Economic Security, a cabinet-level group appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt just one year earlier. The Act created several programs that, even today, form the basis for the government's role in providing income security, specifically, the old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs.” Social Security was modeled to aid the elderly citizens, however during the
“Our current Social Security system is acting as a drag on economic growth in two important ways. First, the payroll tax distorts the supply of labor and the type of compensation sought by workers. These losses are inevitable because of the low return implied by the pay-as-you-go character of the unfunded Social Security system. Second, the system reduces national savings and investment. Privatizing Social Security, transforming it from an unfunded pay-as-you-go system to a system of mandatory private savings accounts, would solve both of those problems and increase