2010 Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment

Varmit · April 17, 2009, 10:03:21 AM

So what happens when the amount you recieve overall, exceeds the amount you have paid in?

Diane Amberg · April 17, 2009, 10:07:37 AM

Thanks, you said it much better than I. Back in the 70's, Al's Oct. thru Dec. paychecks had no SS taken out because he had put in the max. Eventually that caught up and every pay had SS taken out.

Wilma · April 17, 2009, 11:03:58 AM

Nothing. Most people are going to receive more than they paid in. It is an insurance policy that you start collecting on before you die. You have paid premiums on it all these years so that you can collect on it when it matures, you retire or reach a certain age, which I don't know what it is now. If you buy a life insurance policy for $10,000.00, pay one premium of $150.00 on it and die, your beneficiary still receives the $10,000.00.

Varmit · April 17, 2009, 12:07:10 PM

Thank you for explaining that....I think I'll leave this one alone.

Diane Amberg · April 17, 2009, 01:07:14 PM

You wouldn't want your kids to get SSI if you became permanently disabled? I sure don't mind paying into the pot for you. Keep in mind too that SS can be taxed now, so it's not "free" money.

Varmit · April 17, 2009, 01:16:22 PM

well I tried...See here is the problem (as I see it) with Social Security. It is nothing more than a taxpayer backed retirement fund. If all a person got was what they put in, then ok. But thats not how it works. Seems like an Entitlement program to me. Yes, if I became disabled I would want my children and wife to recieve whatever money I had put into the program, but not a penny more. Thats why I have other savings.

The other problem with SSI is that it is mandatory, I cannot opt out. So the gov't takes the money I earn and gives it to other people without consulting me about it; in return all I get is an IOU with zero collateral that I can use to call in the note. Thats theft.

redcliffsw · April 17, 2009, 01:20:41 PM

How much is in the "pot" these days?

I'm agreeing with Varmit on this one too.
You're doing good so stay right in there, Varmit.

Diane Amberg · April 17, 2009, 01:50:05 PM

There are still be cases where you can opt out. I know Al's aunt, a Philadelphia teacher, opted out to get more in her pay check. She had her teacher's pension when she retired, but no SS. My grandpa had a railroad pension but no SS. Our New Castle County police now do not pay into SS. They get 6.5 % more in their paycheck. SS was never meant to be a "retirement" to live on. It's a "supplement" to help people keep from starving to death. When FDR started it, that's what it was for. The pot isn't nearly big enough now because Gov't has dipped into it, we have a lot more older people now and we all live longer, so less has to go farther. Good for you that you have savings. I wish more people would take savings more seriously when they are young.

Varmit · April 17, 2009, 01:59:30 PM

Thats the thing , I shouldn't have to go through the hassle of paperwork and phonecalls to opt out of a program that I never enrolled in.

Wilma · April 17, 2009, 02:15:54 PM

Well, good, if you and enough more decide to not collect your social security, there will be more for the rest of us.

Why don't you look at the excess over what you pay in as interest. You earn interest on your savings, don't you? Would you have investments if they didn't make any money for you?

At the time social security was started, jobs didn't pay enough to raise a family and put away savings for your old age. They didn't even pay enough for a family to buy a decent house. It is a forced way of saving, but in the long run, what you collect is far more than what you pay in. If you can manage to save enough to provide you with a comfortable lifestyle after you retire, fine. But there is many a slip twixt cup and lip.