Who else will be destitute if this ss thing goes thru?

[hatredisnotavalue]

Me and the hubby have paid into ss all of our working lives. We are on the cusp of the cutoff, late 40's, early 50. I am a huge advocate of ss. It took care of our parents and grandparents and left inheritances so we had money to to better our lives and that of our kids.

If this social security reform goes thru, I assume I have to continue paying ss, save for our retirement and pay for our teenagers' education? I just don't know where I will find the money given that my F'IN health care premium is more than what I pay for my house and car mortgage combined each month.

OR, is this just a huge smoke screen to make me worry about this and not something else? And what is that ELSE? I just don't know.

[Vincardog]

1. I will be destitute if this ss thing goes thru

[david_vincent]

2. well, umm... Nature Bats Last

That's the big secret they really don't want you to think about.

[no name no slogan]

3. Nobody will be destitute, unless you invest in the 'personal accounts

Regular SS benefits will stay the same, and those who don't take out the 'personal accounts' will get plain old SS as it has always been.

If you choose to invest in the acocounts, you do risk losing a portion of your benefits, if the investments in your 'personal account' don't do as well as the regular SS fund. However, you are not forced to invest in the accounts if you so choose.

Also, unlike other investments, you do NOT get to pass along your gains in the SS 'personal account' to your heirs. If you die before you tap it out, tough luck. It goes back into the SS fund.

The plan as it stands is not as bad as many have made it out to be for individuals. HOWEVER, that still doesn't make it a good idea.

The whole premise behind SS was a combination of old-age pension and insurance. It was designed to provide a minimum amount of support to keep people from destitution. It is NOT a 'retirement plan', but a social insurance plan.

The tax system already provides many ways for people to save for retirement-- IRAs, 401(k)s, etc. We don't need to screw up SS to make people save more for retirement.

[hatredisnotavalue]

4. Thanks so much for the info...

You sound very educated on the issue :)

[Kat45]

5. BUT, they will most likely cut the amount that constuitues

regular SS benefits, because by doing this private accounts shit, there will be even less money to pay for SS. (And I also believe that the neocons want to get rid of SS--after all, that's money that could be used to line their pockets.)

[katinmn]

I think you're right. I have more reading to do, and WE

probably know more than what MSM is reporting, but I did see something that said SS payments will decline whether you keep it all intact or turn some over to Wall Street.

[Kikosexy2]

6. In the words of ...

The Who..."hope I die before I get old".

[trof]

7. Me.

It's about half my monthly income.