Fight for $15. (Fast food protest)

[Swagger897]

SS takes somewhere well over 20 times as much of my money, and I'll be lucky to get half of it back, ever.

It would be a blessing to be able to opt-out and let me manage my own money.

 

[Danoff]

It would be a blessing to be able to opt-out and let me manage my own money.

If you have parents (like I do) who are cashing social security checks that are coming out of your paycheck, they can let you "opt out" by signing that check over to you. When you really think about it, if you showed up at their door with $1000 to give them, perhaps your parents (not mine) would refuse. "Your money is no good here" they might say with a chuckle. But since it gets taken from your paycheck and redistributed to them via the government, they take it.

I fully intend to do this for my children.

 

[ryzno]

If you have parents (like I do) who are cashing social security checks that are coming out of your paycheck, they can let you "opt out" by signing that check over to you. When you really think about it, if you showed up at their door with $1000 to give them, perhaps your parents (not mine) would refuse. "Your money is no good here" they might say with a chuckle. But since it gets taken from your paycheck and redistributed to them via the government, they take it.

I fully intend to do this for my children.

But the thing is, there are no checks anymore. It's all paperless and wireless.
If they would have left SS alone and used it how it was meant. We wouldn't be in this debacle. But hey, mi dinero es su dinero right?

 

[Swagger897]

If you have parents (like I do) who are cashing social security checks that are coming out of your paycheck, they can let you "opt out" by signing that check over to you.

Not quite yet. Maybe in 10-15 years but we'll see what there is to even come of SS by that time. I don't think they would sign it over though, just because no one did it for them, but I could be wrong. I know my parents are well off and they are both prepared for retirement after talking with them a few weeks ago about creating new wills, etc., and I've already begun myself. But it would be nice to just have a little bit more disposable incoming for personal use.

 

[CSLACR]

If you have parents (like I do) who are cashing social security checks that are coming out of your paycheck, they can let you "opt out" by signing that check over to you. When you really think about it, if you showed up at their door with $1000 to give them, perhaps your parents (not mine) would refuse. "Your money is no good here" they might say with a chuckle. But since it gets taken from your paycheck and redistributed to them via the government, they take it.

I fully intend to do this for my children.

But, that's still only around half that actually gets distributed back as originally intended, isn't it?
The other half disappears.

 

[Danoff]

But, that's still only around half that actually gets distributed back as originally intended, isn't it?
The other half disappears.

Actually, if you have two living parents who are both drawing SS, you may find that it covers several working adults. For example, if you make about 100k per year you kick 14k into social security. But for a working couple (both people worked and paid in fully during their employment), you can take home $5k per month in retirement, or $60k per year. Average payout is more like $2500 per month or 30k per year. keep in mind that that's before tax, but tax brackets are usually pretty low for retirees (who can often control which brackets they fall in).

 

[CSLACR]

Actually, if you have two living parents who are both drawing SS, you may find that it covers several working adults. For example, if you make about 100k per year you kick 14k into social security. But for a working couple (both people worked and paid in fully during their employment), you can take home $5k per month in retirement, or $60k per year. Average payout is more like $2500 per month or 30k per year. keep in mind that that's before tax, but tax brackets are usually pretty low for retirees (who can often control which brackets they fall in).

I'm not sure why you're comparing SS off 100k per year income, to 60k per year covering several adults?
Aside from the fact 100k is over double the average U.S. yearly income.

What I was saying, is if you put 900k into SS over your lifetime, you won't get nearly 900k back, as far as I've been told. The sadder part, is that a lot of people die, which should make tons of extra cash laying in SS, but it doesn't.

Either way, I'm just saying I see 10 gripes about unemployment, for every 1 gripe about SS, and people lose a LOT more money to the fraudulent SS program.
The taxing amount of unemployment is currently extremely low. It's like Americans think it's a large portion of tax money, where in reality it's a laughably small amount.

 

[Danoff]

I'm not sure why you're comparing SS off 100k per year income, to 60k per year covering several adults?
Aside from the fact 100k is over double the average U.S. yearly income.

What I was saying, is if you put 900k into SS over your lifetime, you won't get nearly 900k back, as far as I've been told. The sadder part, is that a lot of people die, which should make tons of extra cash laying in SS, but it doesn't.

Either way, I'm just saying I see 10 gripes about unemployment, for every 1 gripe about SS, and people lose a LOT more money to the fraudulent SS program.
The taxing amount of unemployment is currently extremely low. It's like Americans think it's a large portion of tax money, where in reality it's a laughably small amount.

Yea I'm not arguing that SS is efficient, or that you'd get all of the money you ever put into SS back. Your parents (and mine) are likely not drawing on SS for nearly as long as we contribute into it. I was trying to show that while they are drawing, even if you contribute the maximum amount ($100k of income translates to $14k contributed), the average retiree still draws enough to make you whole during that time period. In other words, that money really is just being taken from you and given to your parents (if they're drawing SS), straight up, no need to beat around the bush. In fact, if hypothetical parents have say 2 or 3 kids, it can STILL be all of the money that their three kids are contributing to SS that is being taken out by those kids' parents.

For example, let's say our hypothetical children earn income as follows:
- Kid 1: $150k/yr
- Kid 2: $70k/yr
- Kid 3: $50k/yr

Including employer contributions (which really come out of your paycheck), the SS for those 3 kids is 14% up to a cap of 127k.
- Kid 1 contributes the maximum annually: $17.8k
- Kid 2 contributes: $9.8k
- Kid 3 contributes: $7k

So the total annual contribution coming from the 3 kids is $34.6k.

The average monthly distribution to a retiree is $1300 (I don't know if this also includes spouse benefits), for an annual total of $15.6k. That means that even if the retiree kicked all of their SS check down to their kids, it would only put back half of what their kids were putting in (at most, taxes have to be paid as well). The max benefit is $2800 per month, for an annual total of $33.6, which is getting pretty close to the amount that the kids are putting in. If both members of a retired couple are receiving maximum benefits (I think this might be possible), that goes to $66k, which is well more than what the kids are putting in. In other words, it takes more than 14% of their three kids' paycheck to cover their SS benefits. More like 5 kids ('cause tax).

The takehome from this is that if your parents are cashing SS checks, and you're contributing, they're likely taking even more than you're putting in, even if you make a lot of money and contribute the maximum. Those parents, who might say "your money is no good here" are also probably not giving you your money back, even though they absolutely can.

Edit:

...and by "absolutely can" I don't mean "they can afford it". I mean that there is a legal mechanism by which they can undo the damage that SS is doing to their working children.

 

[Joey D]

I'm not sure why you're comparing SS off 100k per year income, to 60k per year covering several adults?
Aside from the fact 100k is over double the average U.S. yearly income.

What I was saying, is if you put 900k into SS over your lifetime, you won't get nearly 900k back, as far as I've been told. The sadder part, is that a lot of people die, which should make tons of extra cash laying in SS, but it doesn't.

Either way, I'm just saying I see 10 gripes about unemployment, for every 1 gripe about SS, and people lose a LOT more money to the fraudulent SS program.
The taxing amount of unemployment is currently extremely low. It's like Americans think it's a large portion of tax money, where in reality it's a laughably small amount.

Ya Social Security is just another form of government theft.