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iOMe Challenge
Grandma and Grandpa may be getting a Social Security raise, but half of their grandkids are pretty sure they won’t see any Social Security at all.
That’s according to a new poll from the Strategic Research Institute at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. It’s working with several other organizations on the iOMe Challenge, which seeks to help young people think about their financial future.
Apparently, they don’t think there’s much future there at all, at least when it comes to Social Security.
The online survey, which included a nationally representative sample of 642 18- to 29-year-olds, found only 5 percent expect that the Social Security benefits they stand to receive at age 67 to be about the same as the ones retirees are receiving today.
In addition to the 50 percent who don’t think it will exist at all, another 28 percent thought it would exist but the benefits would be much smaller. Eighteen percent weren’t sure what would happen.
Social Security is at risk of running short of funds unless some changes are made, because the general population is both aging and living longer. Proposals include raising the Social Security tax cap, increasing the age at which you start collecting Social Security and reducing benefits.
David Wegge, executive director of the Strategic Research Institute, noted that no matter what happens with Social Security, millennials will likely have to rely more on their own savings than previous generations. That’s because pensions also are becoming much less common.
“There’s much more responsibility that’s being placed on an individual’s shoulder,” Wegge said.
The survey found that about four in 10 millennials are setting aside some money for retirement each month. The ones who don’t think Social Security will be there when they retire were also the least likely to be currently saving for retirement.
Even those who are setting money aside are generally not saving very much.
That’s not surprising given the current economy. The unemployment rate for 25- to 34-year-olds was at 9.7 percent in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 20- to 24-year-olds, it was 14.7 percent.
Even those who have jobs may not have much left over at the end of the month. In general, younger workers tend to earn lower wages because they are just starting out, and that may be especially true right now.
In addition, Wegge noted, many younger workers may be trying to pay off student loans.
“I think that generation is coming into the workforce at a very challenging time,” he said.
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Of Social Security and Ponzi schemes
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The saddest part is almost all of you are just recently figuring this out in the last couple years. I figured this out over 30 years ago, which is why I chose to enjoy my youth and start working later. I knew I would be working til I die (just watch how it plays out) so 'they' can have my decrepid, old age years, I got my youth.
The Millennials and GenXYZrs could have an even better SS than my Gen has if they can fix this broken system. What it will take is for them to get the Corporations to increase employment, which they could, pay higher salaries, which they are trying hard to prevent by every trick in the book, and make Education a world class example of producing the 'Best and Brightest' for all.
All of these things are possible and there is a minority that is doing everything it can to prevent it. During the Great Depression some of the biggest most powerful monopolies were formed, vultures feeding on the carcasses of their competitors. If you think investing and saving will make up for SS you have a gambling addiction or blind to the Boomers who lost it all and would have nothing if not for SS and Medicare. Better to have an elected Gov. than a idiot Stockbroker/Banker you can't fire.
Third world countries have small governments, no regulations and unlimited power in the hands of a few families. Is that the future the GenXYZrs want?
Something the Millennials had better take into account is the health burden that is coming down the road, Diabetes and Heart Disease from Obesity, Mental problems from Ecstasy and Meth. It could take 20 years for these to show up and if the Health Industry isn't put on a short leash you won't be able to afford those new cures.
From the 2010 Trustees' Report
Please explain what the Democrat's have done to extend the life of Social Security besides TALK. Do you agree that something has to be done to save Social Security or just leave it alone? What have you done or plan on doing if Social Security goes bankraupt? Savings?, 401K?, buying gold? Nothing? Who will you blame in the future for the failure of Social Security if something could be done today to save it and it wasn't done? Do you think it is your obligation to pay into Social Security? Have any of you really thought about your retirement at all? If you don't take action to secure your retirement funds who do you expect to take care of you for your failure?
Intragovernmental Holdings (IGH) are government securities that are issued by one government agency and held by another. When the government borrows from Social Security, Medicare or some other government fund, sort of borrowing from itself, it is held as special-issue U.S. Treasuries which receive interest. The total gets added to the IGH section of the National Debt. According to the last GAO (Governmental Accountability Office) audit, as of Sep 30, 2010, IGH was at $4.53 trillion. I would expect to see a new GAO report shortly.
Since all this is included in the national debt, some may ask why this is a big deal. If you happen to hear testimony about government budget projections for the future, even the current physical year budget, officials always include a statement that the projections are based on the publically held debt and not the total national debt. Over the next 25 years the SS & Medicare Trust Funds, located in IGH will be redeemed as needed to pay benefits by selling more U.S. Treasuries to the public to redeem the special-issue Treasuries. While the national debt will not increase because of the shift from IGH to publically held debt, interest payments on those treasuries will have to be added to budget forecasts and that is not happening now. It has been an accounting gimmick used by both political parties to hide the true size of our federal budget deficits from the public.
On the Treasury website, there is a breakdown of the IGH. Some of the Government Account Series holders, as of 9/30/2010:
$2.4 trillion - Federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security)
$770 billion - Civil Service retirement and Disability Fund
$282 billion - Military Retirement Fund, Dept of Defense
$279 billion - Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund
$187 billion - Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund
$42 billion - Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund
No the democrats will give it away to the dead beats that do not work first.
Small minds think small. Repubs already gave a huge chunk of SS away to the Defense Contractors, mainly in Texas. Dead beats are a small minority and fraud could be prosecuted. Most of your 'Deadbeats' Rick are in the 'Red States'.
You don't understand Social Security. You get out of SS a monthly check based on what you paid into the system. It is not given away, it does not go to illegals...if you did not pay into the system you don't get money out of the system.
Interesting....Peter17 seems to be the only poster here with a grasp of the SS system.
Don't let the Koch Brothers Republican/Tea Party steal your Social Security...please watch this very important video from Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
They can steal it from you only if you allow them to:
Wow, more of the 1-trick pony rhetoric from the left. "Fear the Koch Brothers" ... How very sad. Those who are not self-reliant are fearful that someone will take something away that they're "entitled" to.
It seems odd that the ones that believe Social Security will not be there are the least likely to save for retirement.
Not really. High costs including gas, housing and food coupled with having to pay 15% in social costs do not allow for saving. Give them back the 15% and allow them to invest!
The young are, and have always been, the worst savers.
The millennials are not alone in this, it has always been the case.
I would if I could.
Effective immediately Social Security should be optional. Those who wish to participate can while those who choose not to should not be required to pay and be given the option to buy gold or whatever they want.
The current crop of SS recipients are taking FAR more out than they paid in which is why there is not enough. They are living much longer than projected and Medicare costs are skyrocketing. That said those of you already collecting should not need my money if they paid in enough right?
GHX, were you home-schooled by a Hedge Fund Manager? Your thinking is like creating a run on the banks and then wondering why the bank failed. SS was given IOUs to fund the Bush wars, and who knows what else, Tax Breaks(?).
At some future date statistics will show how many Boomers drew out more than they put in because of life expectancy, but that is speculation now. With all the incompetence in the Health Care Industry and becoming more unaffordable I am not counting on outdrawing mine.
I cashed in my 401(k) before Wall Street crashed, some could see it coming. I also had a percentage in my employers stock (small, I suspected they were crooks). Lo and behold later they got caught cooking the books and their stock dropped to 1/8th of what it was when I cashed out. Not to mention the fees for the broker managing the fund and did not better than flipping a coin.
Milo Math is Math.
Are you suggesting the SS money should have been kept in cash and NOT invested for a decent rate of return by loaning it to the Federal Govt?
Personally I would be a lot more confident managing my own business rather than trusting the government to manage my business because someone speculates I am too stupid to manage my own affairs.
GHX,
What I am suggesting is that you should play it safe, keep SS AND Invest in long term stable stocks, do not risk it all on speculation. Example is the decrease in car deaths because everybody has to wear a seatbelt, those that don't have greater odds of dying usaually because of someone else's fault.
I had a 401k through my work because I feared that even though I pay into SS, I would not receive benefits and would be forced to fund myself when im no longer able to work. Then this recession happened and it wiped out 5 years of savings nearly overnight. I would like to think that protections would be put into place to secure the money I have paid into the SS since i was 16. I doubt very much it will be there though. I have kept my 401k active, but stopped contributing because it seemed like for every 1 dollar I put into it, i lost 1.5 dollars in return. How can someone like me survive after retirement without SS? I have pre-paid for this social service to provide some financial assistance when I am no longer able to work. Should I just keel over in a ditch and die, knowing that I was basically lied to. I don't get a choice about paying into SS, I am forced to. Why isn't there some kind of protection for me an a forced investor?
kudos to Peter17 for continuing to provide Facts, one of the rare Repubs that deserves some respect.
The big variable in the whole SS/Medicare debate is how much the economy will/can grow and how much of the GDP profits gets put into the pockets (SS contributors) of a declining population. Another question is whether our population will grow from Immigrants and how much population growth can America sustain without killing ourselves from pollution, starvation and turning into a Somalia.
Either you are a saver or spender. If you stop paying into SS, your habits are not likely to change. If you are a spender and you get a 6% raise, you will spend that money to. SS is one of the only government programs that has been successful. I have seen people who made half as much as me and were good at planing for their retirement and are doing better than me in retirement. I am very happy for them.
Pay into your future every payday and you will be just fine.
Given our current spending I have little hope of the government being there to help when I retire. It doesn't help that at 27, while I own a home, I have no savings or 401K. You can't help but feel screwed. Social Security was designed to be a system that people paid into while the worked, and when they were older or physically unable to work any longer, they had this assistance. The problem is, too many are using the system and SSDI inappropriately, and have paid in little or nothing during their lives. It is very discouraging.
I feel bad for this generation but it is what it is. Half of them are coming out with huge college debt to work at near minimum wage jobs. My daughter is one of them. She is working part time with over $25,000.00 in debt over her head. She lives with her mom and can barely make ends meet. This generation couldn't figure out that the debt they were taking on would be a noose around their neck.
My stepson entered college this year and I was super involved. He got over 21 credits in A/P and after his first semester, he will be a sophomore. I told him if he graduated in 3 years, I'd give him a check for half his debt. He is getting a degree that will be valuable in 3 years. He will have very little debt if he graduates in 3 years. This summer, he is taking 9 credits locally and will be working at his job.
What really helped him is that I sat him down and told him the facts of real life when he was a sophomore in HS. I put it bluntly to him. I told him no one other than his family gave a rats ass about him. It was up to him to make his life as good as his mom's and I. I took him to an admission director at a local college that summer and we reviewed his transcripts. The AD told him he would have to "pick it up gradewise" if he wanted to get into any of the colleges he was looking into. And he did. He went from B's and C's to mostly A's and a couple B's. If only other parents were as active as we were.
He is ready for life and won't be saddled like most kids his age. Again, it's all in the preparation they have that determines their course in life.
Big mistake to say you do not expect to get it. That is what they want to here, and sure enough you may not. Better answer is if you SOBs want to stay in office you will make it a priority; very high on the list.
Great leftist social experiments will always eventually fail, i.e. SS, Medicare, welfare, ObamaCare, etc. They all take in less than they hand out. It is expected that all these programs cost the taxpayers ten times what they say they would initially. SS is a great lesson to the younger generation that government needs to be trimmed back. In other words, they are seeing the real world and will adopt conservative thinking.
we could start by making the public servants, (joke) take the same healthcare and social security the the people they are supposed to serve, have, their retirement, healthcare and social security is 5 times better than the, they are stealing from the taxpayers
I am pretty sure that i will never be able to retire and that i definately can't even afford to die!! A big thanks to making us contribute to something all of our adult lives, and leave us out in the cold until the end. We should be able to keep our money now, and let them figure out how to deal with the situation now!
The god of the left FDR did a great selling job to the people, making them believe that they were actually contributing to their own retirement when it was NEVER meant to be. The taxes were spent as fast as they were collected, both for SS for the elderly at the time and anything left was spent on pet projects. The tax collection technique of payroll deduction was also a FDR invention to minimize the shock of losing your money. What you don't see won't piss you off was the thinking.
Lets get something straight first...The Republicans have had NOTHING to do with the demise of Social Security; there are three main factors for the present situation. The first started with the baby boomers; there was no adjustment put into place to allow for a large group of people to retire with a relatively smaller group then paying in. The second occurred when those who paid nothing in were permitted to get money out (SSI, Disability etc; all Democrat initiated add-ons). The third occurred when Bill Clinton rapped the Social Security fund to "Balance" his budgets (he also did this to the Medicare fund which will eventually lead to it's demise). Let put the blame where it's due...and that blame is not on the backs of the Republicans.