I can't live on $709 a month: Americans on social security push for its expansion

[jmbar2]

Last edited Sun Jul 4, 2021, 04:19 PM - Edit history (1)

From The Guardian
by Michael Sainato

Calls for reform include increasing benefits in line with cost of living as employers provide fewer retirement pensions

Public opinion polls on social security demonstrate there is strong bipartisan support for the system and opposition to cuts. Congressman John Larson of Connecticut introduced a bill last legislative session to expand social security, along with 209 co-sponsors, and Altman expressed optimism social security legislation could move forward after the Biden administration finalizes the bipartisan infrastructure deal.
...

Currently, social security benefits in the US are lower than in the majority of developed nations, compared with the percentage of earnings the benefits provide to the average worker. The benefits are also taxed and Medicare costs are deducted as well.
...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/04/social-security-expansion-reform-push


I hope that the Biden administration will address social security's low payments soon. Too many people are at risk of homelessness because the benefits haven't kept up with the cost of living.

[RainCaster]

1. Housing costs for seniors go up much faster than inflation

My house is paid off, so I no longer have a mortgage payment. However, the county still charges me an annual fee for having my house in their presence. That rate has gone up at a steady 18-20% each year. If this is what others have to deal with, I can see how SS is insufficient.

[jmbar2]

2. I was thinking of the movie Nomadland

So many seniors cannot afford rent, they have become a nomads in vans and RVs. During last week's heatwave in Oregon, they flooded coast communities to get out of the heat. The combination of poverty, living out of a vehicle with no real permanent location, and heat is a really bad combination.

[RainCaster]

3. I see a lot of these folks every week

I volunteer at a local food bank and it surprises me, the number of people obviously living in their cars.

[notinkansas]

5. That book was NOT fiction.

It was rigorously researched over a period of years. It was a real eye opener - at least for me.

[notinkansas]

6. Added for jmbar2

I did not mean to imply that you suggested that it was fiction. I realize I worded that badly. It's just that it may seem fictional to people who haven't seen all the references in the book.

[jmbar2]

15. I got what you meant...

And I agree completely!

[Tomconroy]

4. The elimination of fixed benefit private pensions

That occurred during the Reagan years was an unpublicized crime.

[Ilsa]

8. Yes, we were told to relax on the three-legged stool of retirement;

the legs being SSI, pension income, and savings from our working years.

[MiniMe]

11. 401K's were supposed to take care of everything

I remember that time well. They were very convincing, unfortunately, it didn't work out well for most.

[Tomconroy]

16. It struck me at the time

That trying to put the vast majority of people, with little knowledge or experience, in charge of their financial futures was bound to end in disaster. This is only the beginning
The next thirty years are going to be a horror.
And yes, FDR said at the time Social Security was passed that there did have to be that three pronged stool. Our greatest President knew that Social Security would never be enough.

[MiniMe]

19. And blame all the employers who got rid of pensions because of 401K's

If people had been able to self fund their retirement, they would have been doing it.

[Tomconroy]

22. Could not agree more.

Hard to believe, but there was a time when the people who ran corporations thought they had obligations to their workers and to their communities. Something truly bad happened in the 80s. No loyalty to anything but the stock price. My own theory is that all those punks who got wet dreams reading Ayn Rand grew up and seized control. In the way the world works, I'm hoping to in my lifetime to see a swing of the pendulum.

[Skittles]

43. a ridiculous notion from the start

a great percentage of the American workforce has zero access to a 401K

[MichMan]

40. 401k worked much better for me than a pension would have

Worked for several different employers during my working years, so never would have accumulated enough years at any one.

401k was able to be rolled over from one job to another and has accumulated nicely. Took a big hit in 2009, but earned all of that back and then some

[Skittles]

45. maybe you could pony up a few bucks for DU

[not fooled]

56. Ha!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

46. Pensions were never universal. Never. At best, maybe 40% of workers were covered by them.

And lots of pensions required working at least 20 years for the same company, maybe longer, to qualify. Yes, some people did have long careers at one company, but not most people.

Another problem with pensions is how many companies deliberately underfunded them and drastically cut the payouts to those who qualified. I know that all too well, as I'm, one of those people. I'm getting less than a third of what I should be getting.

A 401k and its ilk doesn't suddenly disappear if you don't work in the same place for a long time. And most companies offer some kind of a match, and people who don't at least take that are idiots.

[Tomconroy]

47. Valid points. But 40 percent

Isn't bad. No reason there couldn't be a guaranteed benefit plus a little incentive to save.

[MichMan]

50. Agreed

Not only that, many people, once they had accumulated some years towards their pensions, were afraid to take a better opportunity and give up the years already accumulated to start over again.

They were essentially tied to the first major job they had for life even if they despised it later or found something better

[Tomconroy]

54. It might not be easy to do

But why shouldn't pensions be as easily portable as a 401ks? Have an individual account for every pension. Is that idea crazy?

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Biden mentioned tying minimums to poverty level

I think he mentioned 125% of poverty level, which would be around 1200 a month back of envelope math.

[malthaussen]

12. I could live in bloody luxury on 1200 a month. n/t

[madamesilverspurs]

9. Zero.

That's the number of times a COLA wasn't exceeded by a concurrent rent increase. Couple that with our local social services office viewing COLAs as a reason to cut back on SNAP and other benefits, all too often the COLA results in a net loss.


.

[quaint]

10. Too, too true.

[leftieNanner]

29. We get the "raise" in January

And then we get the bill for our supplemental health insurance and that takes away the raise and a little bit more.

We need to have the health insurance, but groceries are a nice luxury as well.

[panader0]

13. I can't live on $709 a month either.

Luckily I get $860.
I own my house, land and well, so it's all good. In Az when you're poor like me, you get AHCCCS,
which gives me almost free health care.

[XanaDUer2]

14. yes older people and the disabled

need help asap

[Solly Mack]

17. K&R

[Journeyman]

18. If $15 is needed for minimum wage, shouldn't SS benefits match that sum? . . .

And sure, it wouldn't have to match $2,600 a month, as retired people generally have less needs than those who are starting out or who have children to support, but something closer to $2,600 than $709 would be a comfortable start.

[ShazzieB]

20. This is SO badly needed!

Pensions are going the way of the dodo, and 401k's don't begin to close the gap. I found that out the hard way when half of mine "magically" disappeared in 2008.

At the age of 58, replacing that money would have been a long shot at best. As it happened, I also got laid off in 2008 and never was able to find another full time job with benefits. As soon as I was old enough for social security, I stared collecting, because, as skimpy as it was, having a steady, albeit small, income was irresistible to me after years of short term, low paying jobs.

[Tomconroy]

23. We love you!

Liz Warren has some ideas and I think President Biden is listening. This needs to be an issue that takes center stage!

[jmbar2]

24. You are the poster child of why the 401K trend was simply a ripoff!

I went through the same layoff situation in 2008. My finances never recovered. I've made up the difference by learning to day trade, but it was a long and expensive learning curve.

[MichMan]

57. I just left mine alone after 2009 and they recovered

Too many people pulled out completely when values were near the low point.


I was unemployed for just over a year while in my early 50s. Just retired a couple months ago

[in2herbs]

21. When one spouse becomes deceased that SS payment should continue just as if s/he

was still alive without regard to whether or not the surviving spouse is receiving SS. It is one way to keep some seniors financially stable.

[jmbar2]

25. Absolutely!

It never made sense why they wouldn't continue those benefits.

[Tomconroy]

27. I think that's the way it works.

My mother was a teacher who worked outside the SS system. She got spousal benefits, and when my father died she inherited his full benefit. Thank you President Roosevelt!
The SS system is complicated. My experience is that you can talk to some of the fabulous SS employees and they will give you good advice.

[leftieNanner]

30. Sorry - Social Security for one spouse goes away when he dies

I took care of my parents' estate when they both died in 2008. Dad died first and not only did they stop paying, they rescinded the payment for the month. He passed away on February 27 and the February money was taken OUT of his account.

[Tomconroy]

34. I could be wrong, but I still think I'm right.

If both are collecting then obviously one benefit will go away, but if the surviving spouse's benefit is lower she should get a bump up. You're right that she won't get the two pensions. That I guess is what the original poster was saying.

[leftieNanner]

38. I misunderstood what you were saying

As for my parents, I don't know whether that was the case with their social security - Mom died less than a month after Dad.

[Tomconroy]

52. Now that I think about it

My mother's case was unusual
She always worked outside the SS system, but when my father died she was able to collect his full benefit. It made an enormous difference because she survived him by 14 years.

[SteelReel]

41. As I understand it

Your Father got his money like he should, in February.
Your Father died on Feb. 27.
The Feb money he received was removed from his account.

If that's correct then they were correct in removing the money.
The money he received in Feb was actually for March.
They always send it one month ahead.
IIRC it's in the paperwork when the payments start.
Sorry, been there, done that

[Cryptoad]

26. Im 72 and disable

i make decisions every month on whether to buy medicine or food..........

[Tomconroy]

28. This is an issue that needs to be brought up

Every day on DU. Somebody in power must be reading.

[Jon King]

31. It can't come from the next generations though!!

Seriously, the kids and grand kids and great grand kids are going to inherit huge climate expenses, SS will likely run out on them. There grandparents could work a job, buy a house for $80,000, see it appreciate to $400000. Young people today can't even do that.

Also, Social Security was never designed to be more than perhaps a third of retirement. This notion it is supposed to fund a full retirement is nonsense. Thats why I started working at 12 years old, never took a vacation for the first 25 years, and saved every dang penny!

[Tomconroy]

35. I disagree.

The payroll tax should have been raised years ago. A just society takes care of their elderly, particularly those who weren't as wise as you

[Sibelius Fan]

58. The payroll tax didn't need to be raised. The income cap on the payroll tax needs to be eliminated.

[Evolve Dammit]

32. I live in one of 14 states that your SS gets "offset" if you can draw a state retirement. It is a

significant hit and I will get about half of what I am entitled to. It's a big deal. "Unfunded liability" they named it, a couple decades ago.
It is a national embarrassment that we have so many homeless and in poverty including seniors who can no longer work. For all the wealth of the US, other societies do a much better job.

[RVN VET71]

36. Government Pension Offset? (GPO?)

The GPO cuts your potential social security survivor benefit if your state pension is based on wages not subject to the social security tax (currently 6.2%). But only your survivor benefit -- not to say it doesn’t wreak of unfairness, but it would not affect any social security benefit you earned from your own work.

The Windfall Elimination Provision reduces the calculation of your benefit if you have worked for wages subject to social security’s tax for fewer than 30 years.

I wasn’t aware that Social Security would cut your SS benefit simply because you are receiving a state pension. My understanding was that it will reduce your benefit only if that pension was based on wages not subject to social security’s tax.

[Tomconroy]

39. You do get a reduced SS benefit of you had

A job outside the system as well as one within it. That was one of the Greenspan 'reforms'. I can't remember now if it was the 80s or the 90s. I think that law did something to screw over people on the Colas too.

[Bayard]

33. Mr. Bayard's parents both died within a few days of each other last year

They left us a decent chunk of money, which promptly paid off both our mortgages and the 10 credit cards. Mr. Bayard had lost his new job for taking off too much time to travel back and take care of their affairs. My business had been doing pitifully for quite some time.

So we both retired at 64, and damn glad we could. We don't get as much SS as we would have waiting till 65, but its been worth it without much in the way of bills now. We are comfortable, and the stress relief has been life saving. Neither one of us had any other retirement funds.

I can't imagine trying to pay rent/mortgage, and buy groceries, on just SS. I saw what happened with my parents, and my 2 disabled sisters, and they had Medicare and Medicaid.

[RVN VET71]

37. FYI, the so called "Full Retirement Age" for Social Security is now between 66 and 67

It used to be 65, but that was changed in the ‘80s.

Signing up at your FRA pays you your “full” benefit. Signing up earlier and that benefit is reduced by about 5% for each year under your Full Retirement Age.

[Tomconroy]

53. Another Greenspan 'reform'.

[MichMan]

61. and passed by a Democratic House

before Ronnie signed it into law

[LanternWaste]

62. Let's pretend it's relevant!

See? Lion.

[Tomconroy]

42. We need Liz Warren to speak out every day

On this issue.
People don't realize it, but any financial planner will tell you that for people well into the upper middle class Social Security is the bedrock foundation of any retirement plan.

[roamer65]

44. So where will the extra benefits come from?

Higher taxes? Removal of the cap on FICA taxation? Debt monetization by the Federal Reserve?

The only way I would support higher taxes is if every penny of someone’s income is subject to FICA.

Running the federal debt higher and higher is simply going to push us into a currency crisis, after which SS benefits will be practically worthless.

[Tomconroy]

48. The FICA is too low.

And the cap on SS taxes need to be raised. At heart I am a fiscal conservative. Programs should be paid for.
But few issues are as important as taking care of the elderly. In a just society everyone should be entitled to enjoy a financially secure retirement. Just as young families should be entitled to good child care. And yes, it will all take much higher taxes. We could all take a lesson from Europe. From cradle to grave, let's take care of our people!

[roamer65]

49. I agree with you on the elderly.

Having too many children, however, should be generally discouraged thru governmental policy.

8 billion is too many, as will become very apparent in 10-20 years.

With an ultra low birth rate, we can use immigration to gain new taxpayers.

[Tomconroy]

51. Check out Japan to see what

Happens to the economy of a country with a low birth rate.
Fortunately for us, we are the country that every one in the world wants to come to. We need vastly more LEGAL immigration by the always hard working people who want to come to our incredible country!

[seta1950]

55. Sadly

Nomadland the movie , is a good depiction of how poorly, seniors are treated in this country, it’s a shame. In other cultures elderly experience is highly valued

[mdbl]

59. now that Ronnie Raygun is dead

can we put the age back to 65?

[MichMan]

60. Well he couldn't have done it without help

The House was in Democratic control for all 8 years of his presidency

[mdbl]

63. Well what were they thinking?

that my body will last forever in a labor job?