Collecting Social Security

[alan1]

In this thread, http://www.usmessageboard.com/healt...3109-the-case-for-universal-healthcare-6.html AVG-Joe has brought up Social Security a few times (as a model for government involved health care). Now, my point here isn't to call him out on that, but rather to point out something about SS benefits.

Take a look at this chart, Life Expectancy at Birth by Race and Sex, 1930–2005 — Infoplease.com
Now, Social Security starts paying out when one reaches the age of 62 (at the earliest, or you can defer to later in life if you want to).
Notice that the black male born prior to 1975 has a life expectancy of less than 62 years. In other words, most black men born before that will not collect SS.
Essentially, there is a fairly large portion of society that will pay into SS for approximately 40 years and never collect one single dime that they pay in. That doesn't even count all the people (both races and both sexes) that will only collect for a few years what they spent 40+ years contributing to.
It's just something I find interesting.

 

[KittenKoder]

Here's the thing though, Social Security isn't the failed system, aside from government raiding it for pet projects instead of using it for what it's intended. The problem is Medicare ... it's a serious mess and has been for a long time. Medicare is government run insurance ... and it sucks, seriously.

 

[submarinepainter]

So what is the solution, I for one would have opted out 4 or five years ago but now in my 50's I feel I have invested a lot into to it, although I have saved and planned it will be hard to retire without something from SS and Medicare .

 

[alan1]

Here's the thing though, Social Security isn't the failed system, aside from government raiding it for pet projects instead of using it for what it's intended. The problem is Medicare ... it's a serious mess and has been for a long time. Medicare is government run insurance ... and it sucks, seriously.

While I agree that medicare is screwed up, my real point of this thread was to point out how unfair SS is to a large segment of our population.

 

[Oddball]

So what is the solution, I for one would have opted out 4 or five years ago but now in my 50's I feel I have invested a lot into to it, although I have saved and planned it will be hard to retire without something from SS and Medicare .

Hate to say it, but....

Ya fucked up.....Ya trusted us.

 

[alan1]

So what is the solution, I for one would have opted out 4 or five years ago but now in my 50's I feel I have invested a lot into to it, although I have saved and planned it will be hard to retire without something from SS and Medicare .

I don't know, but if I was a black male born prior to about 1994, I'd sure as hell want to opt out.

 

[Old Rocks]

Much of one's life expectancy depends on one's habits. Maintain a healthy lifestyle, and live as long as your genetics allow. Live like a fool, and when I am in my ninties, I will be spending your Social Security.

 

[alan1]

Much of one's life expectancy depends on one's habits. Maintain a healthy lifestyle, and live as long as your genetics allow. Live like a fool, and when I am in my ninties, I will be spending your Social Security.

More of it depends upon having ancestors that lived long lives.
Just ask any gerontologist.

 

[Old Rocks]

OK. That sounds like "Choose your Grandparents carefully!". Fortunately, I am well off in that department. Late eighties to early one hundreds for the last three generations. However, no matter how well ones genetics set you up, a foolish life will be a short one.

 

[editec]

Social Security's greatest benefit comes to those workers who get sick before retirement, I think.

 

[Old Rocks]

Provided that one can survive long enough to get disability. Over one third of the people that apply die before their application is approved.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

so what is the solution, i for one would have opted out 4 or five years ago but now in my 50's i feel i have invested a lot into to it, although i have saved and planned it will be hard to retire without something from ss and medicare .

hate to say it, but....

ya fucked up.....ya trusted us.

roflmnao...

Hilarious!

 

[johnrocks]

Much of one's life expectancy depends on one's habits. Maintain a healthy lifestyle, and live as long as your genetics allow. Live like a fool, and when I am in my ninties, I will be spending your Social Security.

Why can't the one's who live unhealthy and die early,pass that money to their descendants and you live on your retirement?

 

[xsited1]

...

Essentially, there is a fairly large portion of society that will pay into SS for approximately 40 years and never collect one single dime that they pay in. That doesn't even count all the people (both races and both sexes) that will only collect for a few years what they spent 40+ years contributing to.
....

True. Of course, the age 65 was chosen because that was the life expectancy at that time. Makes you wonder what the government really had in mind with your hard-earned money, eh?

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Actually, 65 was way beyond life expectancy when Bismark first came up with the plan when he was 65. but Bismark kept working until he was fired 10 years later. The average German worker died before 50 back then.


I don't believe the folks who came up with the plan really bothered much about the racial component. Life expectancies really didn't jump until post last world war. I think in Bismark's case, it was designed as a lottery where 90% would loose. When it was brought here in the 30's, even then most of the 'tickets' were going to be loosers.

 

[editec]

Social security was something FDR did to get money into the hands of poor aged workers who were penniless in the 1930s, I think.

Some people who never contributed lived decades after getting their first checks, thus beginning what was basically a ponzi scheme until Reagan increased the SS taxes to make the program solvent.

 

[Xenophon]

So what is the solution, I for one would have opted out 4 or five years ago but now in my 50's I feel I have invested a lot into to it, although I have saved and planned it will be hard to retire without something from SS and Medicare .

Hate to say it, but....

Ya fucked up.....Ya trusted us.

I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part.

 

[Oddball]

And we're just the ones to do it.

 

[Sweet Willy]

Some people die before they can collect. Some collect far more than they put in. Some collect on a spouses account even though they never contributed themselves.

I can imagine that it's not pretty to see people too old and broken to work, living in filth and poverty, probably begging for food. It probably wouldn't be too healthy for any of us to let those conditions become common. We'd have breeding grounds for TB and bird/swine/horse/fish flu.

It's probably a good idea to keep the least of us at least in basic food and shelter.

 

[Alan Partridge]

Social security was something FDR did to get money into the hands of poor aged workers who were penniless in the 1930s, I think.

Some people who never contributed lived decades after getting their first checks, thus beginning what was basically a ponzi scheme until Reagan increased the SS taxes to make the program solvent.

social security is solvent?