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Share your fears about Social Security
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Social Security
Share your fears about Social Security
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><div>You worked hard for it. Now talk to others on how to save Social Security.</div></font>
1) In the article, Social Security Fears , many Social Security myths are addressed. What concerns you the most about Social Security?
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Cat:7a9899c6-bb01-48a5-bd56-e73d9d7e3998Forum:17f83b76-a805-4002-b497-6dbb421b0b8a
Cat:7a9899c6-bb01-48a5-bd56-e73d9d7e3998Forum:17f83b76-a805-4002-b497-6dbb421b0b8aDiscussion:b04dcee8-e9c2-4e17-ac46-1f518c16ac6b
Forums » Work & Retirement » Social Security » Share your fears about Social Security
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Re: Share your fears about Social Security
posted at March 18, 2012 10:00 AM EDT
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Posts: 1923
First: November 27, 2011 Last: May 18, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Share your fears about Social Security: In Response to Share your fears about Social Security : [Qdies.UOTE]1) In the article, Social Security Fears , many Social Security myths are addressed. What concerns you the most about Social Security? Posted by AARPMiller My fear is that because I have a Teacher's retirement Plan in the state of Georgia, Social Security will not pay me my husbands social security when he dies.Posted by susan4442 ______________________________________________________________ Based on current Social Security law, your spousal (widowers) benefit would be reduced because of your teachers' retirement - depending on the amount of your teachers' retirement, it could be reduced to zero. |
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Re: Share your fears about Social Security
posted at March 19, 2012 2:16 PM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: March 19, 2012 Last: March 19, 2012 |
If you want to do something to protect social security and Medicare you should support Rob Zerban at http://robzerban.com He is running against Paul Ryan for the federal HOR for Wis. Paul Ryan wrote the GOP's budget plan that called for draconian cuts in SS and Medicare. There could be no clearer sign that the American electorate could send than the purging of someone who suggests crippling cuts to the most important issues to seniors and AARP members. Please support Rob, and send the House the message "Hands Off Social Security and Medicare". |
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Re: Share your fears about Social Security
posted at March 19, 2012 9:03 PM EDT
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Posts: 5
First: October 31, 2011 Last: April 6, 2013 |
In Response to Share your fears about Social Security: 1) In the article, Social Security Fears , many Social Security myths are addressed. What concerns you the most about Social Security? Posted by AARPMiller This concerns what happens when your spouse passes away. I understand I can keep my husband's social security benefits. Does that mean I would then lose mine? |
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Re: Share your fears about Social Security
posted at March 20, 2012 2:19 PM EDT
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Posts: 1923
First: November 27, 2011 Last: May 18, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Share your fears about Social Security: In Response to Share your fears about Social Security : This concerns what happens when your spouse passes away. I understand I can keep my husband's social security benefits. Does that mean I would then lose mine? Posted by cavankb Once widowed, you can take either your own earned benefit OR your spousal benefit - if there are small dependent children, they are given some benefit from the deceased parent until they are 18. You DO NOT get both your earned benefit and a spousal benefit, from the deceased spouse, at the same time. I have found that many people do not understand this and sometimes it causes real financial hardship when the death of a spouse occurs. Best plan ahead. |
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Re: Share your fears about Social Security
posted at March 20, 2012 2:28 PM EDT
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Posts: 1923
First: November 27, 2011 Last: May 18, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Share your fears about Social Security: If you want to do something to protect social security and Medicare you should support Rob Zerban at http://robzerban.com He is running against Paul Ryan for the federal HOR for Wis. Paul Ryan wrote the GOP's budget plan that called for draconian cuts in SS and Medicare. There could be no clearer sign that the American electorate could send than the purging of someone who suggests crippling cuts to the most important issues to seniors and AARP members. Please support Rob, and send the House the message "Hands Off Social Security and Medicare". Posted by comsax1 I CANNOT find HIS plan to make either/or Social Security or Medicare financially stable. So Where is his plan to help these financially ailing entitlements. How do you know that you would like his plan once he puts it out there? |
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Re: Share your fears about Social Security
posted at March 22, 2012 11:15 PM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: March 22, 2012 Last: March 22, 2012 |
I think that any fear I might have had has been summed up pretty well by the people who have posted on this site. I guess growing old and realizing that you are going to have to rely on someone else to see that you have what you need to survive is frightening no matter what the context. I was talking to a friend in Nigeria once.. and I asked him about their *Social Security* program.. how the older people were cared for. And he told me that in Nigeria the children are legally responsible to care for their elderly parents just as the parents were legally responsible for their children. I am sure that works wonderfully if the children are financially able to fill the needs.. but I am also sure that there are many elderly who must have to go without the basic necessities because their children are unable to provide them. In this country we have lived a charmed existence.. and it is not sustainable. But I don't think that even the total collapse of the Social Security system will endanger our lives.. just our life styles.
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Re: Share your fears about Social Security
posted at March 23, 2012 3:19 PM EDT
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Posts: 1923
First: November 27, 2011 Last: May 18, 2013 |
In Response to Re: Share your fears about Social Security: I think that any fear I might have had has been summed up pretty well by the people who have posted on this site. I guess growing old and realizing that you are going to have to rely on someone else to see that you have what you need to survive is frightening no matter what the context. I was talking to a friend in Nigeria once.. and I asked him about their *Social Security* program.. how the older people were cared for. And he told me that in Nigeria the children are legally responsible to care for their elderly parents just as the parents were legally responsible for their children. I am sure that works wonderfully if the children are financially able to fill the needs.. but I am also sure that there are many elderly who must have to go without the basic necessities because their children are unable to provide them. In this country we have lived a charmed existence.. and it is not sustainable. But I don't think that even the total collapse of the Social Security system will endanger our lives.. just our life styles. Posted by muchamas Thank you muchamas - good post It is only by planning ahead that you can still have control over your lifestyle once your life changes in some way, be that retirement or disability. I took over my mother's finances when my father died in 1981 - she had never worked and they had very meager savings. She was 59 then and deaf. Thank goodness, they had no debt. She got a parttime job serving kids their school lunch and worked until she was 67; she began to draw my father's SS benefit at 65 and got his medicare benefit. My husband and I helped out with home chore but when she go to be about 76, the home was needing major repair upkeep - HVAC - roof - big costly stuff. I found her a place to live in a senior community high rise where she lived until she turned 89. The rent was reasonable and the one-bedroom was allshe needed. She lived comfortablely on her SS, an $86 per month (father's widower)pension and another $100 per month from dividends on a stock that I had purchased for her. I waited until the real estate boom was going strong and then sold her home and the 2-acres it was on. Didn't even have to put up a sign - just call developers. She got a great price and I invested it for her. She is now in Assisted Living and I can pay for her care for years and years and years from this action. Life will never get cheaper so it plans to look ahead to the future as best we can. |
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AARP CEO meeting secretly with anti-SS and Medicare politicians
posted at March 28, 2012 5:08 PM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: March 28, 2012 Last: March 28, 2012 |
I've had some correspondence with AARP about the secret meeting and the "earned a say" poll, here's my response: I am not at all satisfied about the response to my message about CEO Rand meeting in secrecy with anti-SS and Medicare politicians and about the honesty of the "earnedasay" poll, The reply message does not reassure me that CEO Barry Rand will be acting to support and extend SS and Medicare, which are my goals and, I believe, the goals of most AARP members, so I can only suppose that he wants to keep his actions hidden from members like me. I want to hear that the AARP CEO, whoever that may be, firmly and unequivically state at every opportunity that he/she and AARP fully support SS as it exists and that Medicare should not be decreased in any way and, if anything, it should be extended to all Americans and ideally would be single-payer . Regarding the poll: there are a lot of vague and easily misconstrued terms in it, one example is: what do you mean by "strengthen" in item 6? I mean: keep SS funding out of the hands of politicians who want to divert it for other uses and extend Medicare to all Americans; someone else might think "strengthen" means to privatize it! And, before submitting our poll comments, members are then required to agree to "terms and conditions" that allow AARP to "edit" the contents and, given the vagueness and potentially contrary interpretations of many of it's terms, it could be interpreted by the editor as the opposite of what I or any other members mean it to say. Representing AARP members should be easy enough, we've said repeatedly that we support and rely on these programs and there's no justification for meeting in secrecy with opponents of the programs, if the CEO is honestly representing us. Frank |
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Re: AARP CEO meeting secretly with anti-SS and Medicare politicians
posted at March 29, 2012 9:51 AM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: March 29, 2012 Last: March 29, 2012 |
I agree with you: What must be done immediately have these representatives and senators along with administration is to have them kepp their little fingers off both plans we have paid into our entire working lives and then some In Response to AARP CEO meeting secretly with anti-SS and Medicare politicians: I've had some correspondence with AARP about the secret meeting and the "earned a say" poll, here's my response: I am not at all satisfied about the response to my message about CEO Rand meeting in secrecy with anti-SS and Medicare politicians and about the honesty of the "earnedasay" poll, The reply message does not reassure me that CEO Barry Rand will be acting to support and extend SS and Medicare, which are my goals and, I believe, the goals of most AARP members, so I can only suppose that he wants to keep his actions hidden from members like me. I want to hear that the AARP CEO, whoever that may be, firmly and unequivically state at every opportunity that he/she and AARP fully support SS as it exists and that Medicare should not be decreased in any way and, if anything, it should be extended to all Americans and ideally would be single-payer . Regarding the poll: there are a lot of vague and easily misconstrued terms in it, one example is: what do you mean by "strengthen" in item 6? I mean: keep SS funding out of the hands of politicians who want to divert it for other uses and extend Medicare to all Americans; someone else might think "strengthen" means to privatize it! And, before submitting our poll comments, members are then required to agree to "terms and conditions" that allow AARP to "edit" the contents and, given the vagueness and potentially contrary interpretations of many of it's terms, it could be interpreted by the editor as the opposite of what I or any other members mean it to say. Representing AARP members should be easy enough, we've said repeatedly that we support and rely on these programs and there's no justification for meeting in secrecy with opponents of the programs, if the CEO is honestly representing us. Frank Posted by frank333 |
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Re: AARP CEO meeting secretly with anti-SS and Medicare politicians
posted at March 29, 2012 11:00 AM EDT
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Posts: 1923
First: November 27, 2011 Last: May 18, 2013 |
In Response to Re: AARP CEO meeting secretly with anti-SS and Medicare politicians: I agree with you: What must be done immediately have these representatives and senators along with administration is to have them kepp their little fingers off both plans we have paid into our entire working lives and then some In Response to AARP CEO meeting secretly with anti-SS and Medicare politicians : Posted by salesman I have heard of NO plans or recommendations to change the system of Social Security for CURRENT beneficiaries or even those that are retiring in the next 10 years. However, the money faces a pitfall around 2036 and the younger generations have a say in all of this because it will be their benefit that is in trouble. A generation, now less than 40 - 50 years old or less, a generation that has grown up investing on their own, might have a different view than yours. Perhaps there will be a split in the contribution destination or added investing incentives but this will not affect current or even close retirees into the system as it now exist. For many of us our full retirement age is at 67 - this was changed in the mid-80's. Government has the ability to regulate the COLA formula based on their data; they also have the ability ot hold it off if economic conditions don't warrant it. Medicare has more immediate financial problems. We are going to have to work on that fast cause when all us baby boomers want our joins replaced, we want it NOW . . . . . then we can use the system more and more because we will all be living into our 90's. Don't take it for granted that all the members of the AARP are of the same mind and views in the regards to Social Secuity and Medicare. Some of us try to think about the future - our children, grandchildren. The debt in this country has been done; now it is time to start thinking about the future and trying to live within our means as a country. People have to learn how to plan for their future - in health care and in retirement, neiither should come as a surprise as we age and as we are all human. To shore up the programs of Social Security and Medicare, all ideas need to be on the table for discussion and I would hope that we can see the merits of any proposals in their true light of helping those that come after us. |
Forums » Work & Retirement » Social Security » Share your fears about Social Security
