The coming Social Security shortfall

[Playinghardball]

Source: MSN

Social Security is facing long-term shortfalls, so future beneficiaries need to prepare early to maximize their benefits. And current recipients need to protect what they're getting now.

Forget for the moment whether there's the political will to tackle the financial problems affecting Social Security and Medicare as outlined in the respective trustees' reports. There's a more practical issue at hand, especially for those for whom Social Security and Medicare represent a part, big or small, of their retirement security plan.

Social Security currently runs a surplus, but that trend is expect to reverse, and by 2037, its Trust Fund is projected to be exhausted. At that point, current benefit levels would exceed the revenue replenishing the system, creating a growing shortfall. Medicare faces a similar fate in 2024. So what should current and future Social Security beneficiaries do to maximize or protect their benefits?

Don't act rashly
First and foremost, don't let media coverage scare you into rash action, said Andy Landis, a principal with Thinking Retirement and the author of "Social Security: The Inside Story." "I've spoken with some pre-retirees who say something like, 'I'd better sign up for Social Security now, before they reduce the payments. They can't reduce mine once I sign up.' That's not sound planning."

More at: http://money.msn.com/retirement-plan/the-coming-social-security-shortfall-marketwatch.aspx?GT1=33042

[msongs]

1. Our enemies in Washington DC are squandering our wealth on wars nt

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Bullshit Bullshit Bullshit. This is based on fudged numbers

These numbers are fudged to show a bad outcome. In reality, unless the economy gets much worse than it is today, and stays that way for good, Social Security is completely solvent for as far as has been studied.

Details here: http://www.handsoffss.org/will-social-security-go-bankrupt-in-the-future.html">Will Social Security go bankrupt in the future?

[damntexdem]

3. The SS "shortfall" is made up of a few, interrelated parts:

1. threats to steal the SS Trust Fund;
2. the shifting of income (putting aside wealth) toward the rich, which has meant less in FICA tax revenues; and
3. the failure to greatly increase, or eliminate, the FICA tax cap, so that most of the income of the wealthy is not taxed (which combines with #2).

The simple solution is to raise or eliminate the FICA cap. The needed longer-term fix for many of our problems, not just SS, is to reverse the flow of income and wealth to the richest. And the necessary act is to defend SS against attacks on its Trust Fund, its benefits, and its eligibility.

[LongTomH]

4. +1000

The real problem on taxes, SS, Medicare, et al, is that workers have been getting a smaller and smaller portion of their own productivity in the last three decades.

[jtown1123]

6. Yep. This article fear mongers. Unrec.

[AngryAmish]

7. Tell me more about this SS trust fund

Where is this giant pile of money?

[indurancevile]

5. lies