interesting article about social security, Nothing new

[frkelly74]

This was forwarded to me and I wanted to post it for comment.

SOCIAL SECURITY NOW CALLED 'FEDERAL BENEFIT PAYMENT'/ENTITLEMENT!

Have you noticed, your Social Security check is now referred to as a
"Federal Benefit Payment"?

I'll be part of the one percent to forward this. I am forwarding it because
it touches a nerve in me, and I hope it will in you. Please keep passing it
on until everyone in our country has read it.

The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a "Federal
Benefit Payment." This isn't a benefit - its earned income! Not only did we
all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too.

It totaled 15% of our income before taxes. If you averaged $30K per year
over your working life, that's close to $180,000 invested in Social
Security. If you calculate the future value of your monthly investment in
social security ($375/month, including both
your and your employer's contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate
compounded monthly, after 40 years of working you'd have more than $1.3+
million dollars saved!

This is your personal investment.

Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318 per
year, or $3,277 per month. That's almost three times more than today's
average Social Security benefit of $1,230 per month, according to the Social
Security Administration (Google it - it's a fact).

And your retirement fund would last more than 33 years (until you're 98 if
you retire at age 65)! I can only imagine how much better most
average-income people could live in retirement if our government had just
invested our money in low-risk interest-earning accounts.

Instead, the folks in Washington pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than
Bernie Madoff ever did. They took our money and used it elsewhere. They
"forgot" that it was OUR money they were taking. They didn't have a
referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them.

And they didn't pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently, they've
told us that the money won't support us for very much longer. But is it our
fault they misused our investments?

And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a "benefit," as if we
never worked to earn every penny of it. Just because they "borrowed" the
money, doesn't mean that our investments were a charity! Let's take a stand.

We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare. Demand that our
legislators bring some sense into our government - Find a way to keep Social
Security and Medicare going, for the sake of that 92% of our population who
need it.

Then call it what it is: Our Earned Retirement Income.

[dg31872]

My wife and I won't be able to receive our first checks until next summer, but we have never counted on being able to get our money back that we have paid in. There are just too many people drawing and not enough contributing for it to be sustainable. Too many politicians with too little oversight. Just my two cents.....Dennis

[Bad Water Bill]

And lets NOT forget that as SS was written your money and its interest were to be returned to you at age 65 TAX FREE.

I WORKED for 53 years paying my hard earned money into that government BANK ACCOUNT with my name on it. Now they DUMP me into the same slackers group that NEVER worked a day in their life.[smilie=b:[smilie=b:

Stolen and passed on.

[Bob Krack]

Yeah, this kinda hits a raw nerve here.

I paid in with the promise of our glorious leaders that I would receive a return when I reached 65 - or a lesser amount at 62 if I chose to.

I truly consider myself in a different set of circumstances than those who are disabled. Many have never paid in a dime. Trust me, I am NOT saying that none of them should receive anything.......I am saying they are receiving welfare and the govmnt is calling it due out of our retirement pool that we paid into INVOLUNTARILY.

I am actually more disabled than many receiving SSI or SSD. But choose to keep my dignity and ask for - no, make that demand the returns on the money I (and my employers) paid into but not into the welfare payments that many receive.

Bob

[Charlie Two Tracks]

Am I supposed to forward the whole post or is there a link in there I am missing.
I will start to draw SS in Feb. It is not an entitlement. As a business owner, I had to pay in for my workers and myself. They are not giving me a thing and not giving me what should be due. There should be an apology along with the first check.

[gray wolf]

Well sure, they want all the sheep to get used to things as a BENEFIT
Benefit my ARSS- hits a nerve over here also, and fall all the mentioned reasons.
What a bunch of cow Poop. What ********ss.

[cbrick]

Sure they now call it an "entitlement".

If it were your money they would have little choice but to pay up. Since it is now an entitlemnt all they have to do is say . . .Sorry, we can't afford to keep paying this entitlement or sorry, this entitlement has to be reduced.

They are also now counting those recieving SSA checks with all others on the gubment dole such as those on welfare. How does that make you feel you lazy moochers.

I retired and my SSA checks started a year ago last August, I paid into SSA for 48 years but now I'm on the gubment dole, a moocher living off the gubment. [smilie=b:

Ah, the blessings of obummer.

Rick

[Blacksmith]

Well it is a "Benefit" and I am "Entitled" to it because I and my employer paid in on my behalf as a part of my earnings. Others get benefits they aren't entitled to.

However, the math in the OP is incorrect. For example SS has never been 15%.

[Goatwhiskers]

Think back a few years to Lyndon B. Johnson and his "Great Society". That's when the Social Security trust fund was dumped into the general fund by Congress and the dumbocrats screwed us all. It's been downhill since. GW

[Roger Ronas]

I do think it was 15% combined. 7.5% from the employer and 7.5% from the employee.
I also think it is earned income. Any of them ******** in office want to trade my measly ssdi check for theirs, let's go. But you must carry my disability that earned it too. Come try to take my entitlement from me and you'll see me enact another right given to me and not to be infringed on.

[popper]

It was first ' SS Insurance', then 'SS Income', now 'SS entitlement'. Just tricks to allow them to lump payers and non-payers together to get gov. off the hook. The funds were always in the 'general' fund, with IOUs written to keep track of accounting. Yes, Johnson did start the increase, but I remember the real change was in '55. Gradually, more and more was 'stolen' from us. I did an analysis from census numbers 1946 to 2010, population from birth/death rates and population from census leaves 163 Million (52% NOT BORN HERE) unaccounted for.

[41 mag fan]

Wait till its like your drivers license...a privilege

[Blacksmith]

I do think it was 15% combined. 7.5% from the employer and 7.5% from the employee.
I also think it is earned income. Any of them ******** in office want to trade my measly ssdi check for theirs, let's go. But you must carry my disability that earned it too. Come try to take my entitlement from me and you'll see me enact another right given to me and not to be infringed on.

The current rate is 10.4% I believe the maximum was 12.6%. It was part of the wage and benefit compensation package however it is not considered "earned income" for tax purposes until you retire and get "TOO Much Money" from other sources, then they will tax it.

[popper]

Until the '70s, now your 'donation' is counted as ordinary income and taxed again when you retire. Typical gov. borrows $0.64/$1 from us then keeps the interest rate to zero. Legitimized theft.

[Bob Krack]

Current employee contribution (to be matched by the employer) is 6.2% (or 12.4% total).

That's not 15%, but it sure don't miss it far!

Bob

[Roger Ronas]

Stupid me: I was also counting Medicare. It is now at 2.9% so half is 1.45% for each, employer and employee. I count it also because it is not a choice to pay and you get Medicare when you get ss. I do know back in the 70"s I was charged about 7.35% for SS and Med combined. I think it is/was called FDIC? or something like that.

Roger

[DIRT Farmer]

The current resident of the white house gave us a tax break if I remember corectly by cutting the amount of the SS duction. On my self employed part of my income it seems that I was paying 14.5%. The max tax rate was 32% plus 14.5 as I remember or a total of 46.5 % on a self employed wage earner.

[popper]

not considered "earned income" for tax purposes Not correct. If your income is below a specified level, you get 'credit'. Same thing after you retire. During your 'retirement' year, income doesn't count against you for tax purposes.

[Bad Water Bill]

So you have never got your hands dirty in your life (commonly called work ) now you collect SS and since you refuse to work you now get EARNED income credit of how many $ per year?

With a deal like that what deadbeat would refuse to re elect the man that never got his hands dirty?

[shooter93]

There is no doubt that SS and medicare need reformed (thanks to the thieves in DC) and could be phased out over a long period. You can't just tell people say 55 and older that the can't collect. They have no time left to gather enough money. SS could be saved if desired if we used a National sales tax instead of the current system with a certain percentage going straight to SS.....of course the problem there is you would also have to make it a Capital crime to even mention "borrowing" from the fund which will never happen. A couple things I tell the younger set when they complain about the elders "entitlements" is.....in the first place most of us would have preferred taking care of our own money (we're not idiots) but we were FORCED into paying into the fund. And the entire economy was predicated on SS being solvent. Our wages were determined by the fact that atleast a partial retirement fund was being "held" for us. Now at the end of or nearing the end of a very long working career for many of us....the rules get changed. Quite simply....the money was stolen. And to top it all off....raises in SS are few and far between and miniscule when they happen all the while Congress gets a very healthy raise every year. To say we elders are furious would be an understatement.

[Roger Ronas]

Is this directed to anyone in particular?



So you have never got your hands dirty in your life (commonly called work ) now you collect SS and since you refuse to work you now get EARNED income credit of how many $ per year?

With a deal like that what deadbeat would refuse to re elect the man that never got his hands dirty?

[1bluehorse]

Then why do the same people keep getting re-elected??????????? I'm fortunate in that I paid into and receive Railroad Retirement and it is a higher "benefit" than SS. I also paid in a lot more than what SS payments were. However in the present political climate, and due to RR being pretty much self sustaining, the government is now trying to get their hands on that also....

[cbrick]

SS could be saved if desired if we used a National sales tax instead of the current system with a certain percentage going straight to SS.

There will never be a National sales tax or a flat tax, at least not that replaces the current system. The reason is very simple and the money they collect from the current system is secondary. The current system with it's incomprehensible complexity gives them tremendous power over everyone.

Rick

[Mumblypeg]

Don't even get me started....