I’m 80 and wife is 68. We are both drawing and counting on it.

At one time, it was called the Social Security Trust Fund and it, the money, was separately handled. Not like governments other obligations. Then ‘they’ looted’ it and made it a general obligation of the government.,

That 8% increase isn`t guaranteed if you die before 70 either. I wonder how many people who waited till 70 never lived that long and spent their life saving instead. Even if one reaches 70 it will be several years before you know if the decision to wait pays off. Healthy people die every day.

By law every cent collected in the name of Social Security has to be deposit into the general fund and it cannot be earmarked for any specific purpose. This was from the Supreme Court ruling in the 30s that upheld the Social Security Act. Nothing has changed. By law the money that is in the so-called Social Security trust fund is treasury bills. Not a single Cent has been taken if you look at it from that perspective and it generates a hundred million dollars per year in interest that is accrued on those bonds. The actual Social Security trust fund is a filing cabinet in an office in Maryland or virginia, I forget which. And that filing cabinet has t-bills in it that have face values of billions of dollars.

Despite the progressives wishing it to be so the federal government is not omnipotent and does not have unlimited powers. Congress does not have the authority to establish a mandated participation nationalized pension system. Social Security was set up utilizing congress's taxation Authority and it is simply an income tax. If you don't believe me simply look up the case called Helvering v Davis. The following is the holding which is the order given by the Supreme Court in that case.

The proceeds of both the employee and employer taxes are to be paid into the Treasury like any other internal revenue generally, and are not earmarked in any way. The Social Security Act of 1935 does not contravene the Tenth Amendment, as Congress is permitted to spend for the general welfare.

Yep, and the main issue is that Congress does not want SS cashing in T-Bills. That is effectvely paying off debt

IIRC, it takes about 8 years to catch up. And that doesn't include any gains that could be made in that time like saving interest on debt reduction or investment gains.

Isn’t it strange how social security is always projected to run out of money but welfare never will? Working people paid into social security under penalty of law but the lazy f$&#s get it for nothing.

^^^ He’s right ya know…

As I said ........ if you are in good health and do not need the money for income to live off of then waiting can be a good decision -on the other hand if you NEED the income to live on and are not in good health then take it early - it is an individual choice - the break point is around age 81 - life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past years so for me? - we did not need the income to live off of and our family history is strong so I am betting wife or I will live way beyond 81 - if EITHER of us live past 81 then we continue to be paid more for the rest of our lives - so again ..... it is an individual decision for each person - and guess what?? If my bet on life expectancy is wrong and wife and I both die then what do we care? We are dead! -

If anyone is relying on SS then you get what you get. It was never designed to subsidize for lack of fiscal responsibility. For the first half century most Americans were far less prone to spending money caused by the need of instant gratification. A couple other aspects why SS was never supposed to be a subsidy. Pensions existed far more than now. People lived within their means. Just look at consumer debt today proportionally to 80 years ago. Lastly, saving money was a thing.

The hard truth is financial ignorance coupled with lack of financial discipline is what keeps most at the mercy of Uncle Sam. It’s not your job or familial wealth or lack of. Why we don’t teach our children about finance starting in middle school is beyond me. A generalized Case and point Asian immigrants. Many that came here within (1) generation went from mostly poor with a small percentage being low middle class to a large portion being top 5% or better earners, but that’s even changing to some degree. I’m half Asian so my facts are somewhere between purely anecdotal and hard numbers lol.

Scared money don’t make money. And if one truly commits to understanding money and markets not just domestically but globally. They’ll make money when everyone’s 401’s have been wiped out.

Fun fact; 1971 was a game changer with the USD moving to fiat currency. Google that dynamic.

When I retired at 62, I called a SS office (the one in Corsicana) and spoke to a fellow there. My question was whether I should start taking the money now or should I wait. He asked a few questions, had some data on me, and he pounded his calculator for a bit. Then he said that based on their data, I should take the money now because if I waited past 65 (or maybe it was 66), I’d never catch up at the higher monthly rate the money I’d have gotten by starting earlier. Part of the calculation was how long his data expected me to live. I took the money at 62.

A lot depends on how long you will live, and unfortunately that may not match up with how long you PLAN to live. As they say “man plans, God laughs”.

It all hinges on the individuals portfolio and the time value of money relationship to that individuals portfolio.

Especially those that took the jab.

I didn’t take it. Healthy, with O+ blood and ivermectin.

MY MAN!

Social Security is supposed to be self funding. Welfare on the other hand takes from producers and gives to people that aren't productive. From the government and Progressives standpoint producers will never run out of money because they only need just a little bit more than they're taking now. I guess they never heard of The Golden Goose.

Social Security will never run out. They will just print the money out of thin and pay it which steals purchasing power from everyone through inflation,

You will get it, it will just be worth less. They are stealing your 401k and your wealth through inflation which is just a hidden tax.

When your monetary system is dishonest, you are in a rigged game.

A dollar defined by the 1792 Coinage act is 372.5 grams pure silver. We don’t use dollars, we use Federal Reserve Notes which are just paper and a total con game. All fiat dollars throughout history return to their true value which is zero.

We are in the end game of the Federal Reserve Note. It’s almost at zero so expect inflation to get much worse.

And the older generations wonder why the younger generations lack motivation…should probably look at what they are leaving behind, but I know that requires reflection and accepting responsibility which is asking a lot.

Every monetary system in the history of mankind that was based on metal collapsed on its own if left alone to run its course.

Modern economics are completely dependent on inflation. Without fiat currency the capital markets dry up and almost no one would ever be able to get a loan for a car or a house. Interest you pay on a loan is in the long run inflation. Personally that doesn't affect me because I've never taken out a loan for anything in my life including houses or cars. I'm in my fifties and I've never borrowed a cent from anyone for anything.

How late is to late?

It can, and will run out! Fend for yourself.

I agree. I took the Ivermectin and never came down with the Covid either. I have acquired a taste for alfalfa hay though and grew a mane.

Actually son, the younger generation lacks motivation because you’ve had it too easy in life and have had things in life just handed to you

Are you looking for reparations?

Metal based monetary system collapsed due to dilution of metal content by clipping coins in Roman times to make more coins. Changing the content of metal in the coins or creating a fractional reserve system that allows you to loan more paper against the metal its backing.

All fiat money collapses in less than 75 years throughout modern history.

Social Security is an insurance program, not a bank account. There isn't anything "to run out". It is no different than looking at the cash resources at The Hartford for home insurance and then looking at the claims and saying "In 10 years The Hartford will be out of money." That's not how insurance works, the group pays premiums for the claims submitted. It is why insurance rates go up.
What is at issue is the Baby Boomer retirement. They are a disproportionate segment of society. When they retire there will be/are so many of them that those working for a living will have to pay a huge amount to cover the social security payments to the Boomers.
Many years ago this was deemed unfair and a plan was set up to address the problem. A special Trust Fund was set up to handle ONLY THE BABY BOOMERS. The idea was the BOOMERS, while still working, would fund this Trust Account THEMSELVES and then it would be used to partially subsidize the BOOMERS future social security payments.. It was figured that most of the BOOMERS will have died by 2035 and the TRUST FUND was designed to evaporate by 2035, it was never intended to last longer than that.
SO....if what I said is true, why is there a problem?
The whole problem was how the money in the TRUST FUND was invested. If it had been put into Bank Certificates of Deposit, etc. THERE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN a problem. Just withdraw the CD funds and all is well. BUT what they did was "invest" the funds in a newly created-special H Treasury Bond series designed for nothing else than this TRUST FUND. No one else can buy this class of Treasury securities.
So $1.00 in social security/FICA taxes is collected for the TRUST FUND. On the books $1.00 is added to this fund. At the same time this fund "invests" in these H bonds so the $1.00 is no longer cash in some bank, it is a piece of paper (H Bond) of the Treasury. The $1.00 goes to the Federal Government that exchanged one of these H Bonds for the cash. Now the Federal government has the money to spend on welfare, foreign aid and other social programs. VOILA!!! Financial genius, the government collects $1.00 in taxes and essentially gets $2.00 in spending. $1.00 in the TRUST FUND and $1.00 for social programs.
Back during the Clinton Administration we all heard how he "balanced the budget". He gave speeches about using the "Excess" to "pay down" the National Debt. "The State of the Economy has never been better", Blah Blah. Well if during that time you looked at the National Debt, it kept going up. How was this possible? What happened was some creative accounting. Part of the National Debt are these H Bonds, funds received from the social security administration that would one day have to be paid back. It was deemed that the amount was "So Huge" that it would be impossible to ever be paid back so they would JUST FORGET IT, they wouldn't pay it back. NOW the H BONDS were no longer an element of the annual budget as it was an obligation that wouldn't be repaid but since these H Bonds were on the books in order to get cash from the social security administration, they kept pushing up the national debt....t so VOILA AGAIN, you just balanced the budget.
In any event the H Bonds -that money could very easily be repaid to the Social Security Administration and the amount transferred to regular T bonds and notes, no problem. They wouldn't have to increase taxes, etc. The young people wouldn't have to pay more FICA taxes, just exchange H Bonds for Regular Bonds. THEY just don't want to do it and they figure most folks don't really understand what they are doing so they'll just forget the obligations these H Bonds created. As I said, if the TRUST money had been put into banks there wouldn't be a problem. And, the idea of the TRUST FUND "going broke in 2035, that is exactly what it was supposed to do, it was only to cover a payment differential for the baby boomers.
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