Social security benefits go up 5.8% in 2009

@cicerone imposter,

It's the same as always. SS benefits increase; however, the true cost of living for people increases at a faster pace. It is howver better than nothing and if memory serves there were some years where there was no increase so perhaps considering these tough fiscal times we can breathe a sigh of relief that at least something was put in.

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@Chesterton,

That's about the long and short of it; we are at the mercy of our government in how they treat us "retired" folks. But I can tell you that the benefits outstrips the payment we made into it. Medicare is a security blanket I wouldn't want to do without.

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@cicerone imposter,

cicerone imposter wrote:

Hey, we have good news! Our benefits will increase by 5.8% starting in January.
The bad news? All these bailouts and rescue plans that adds several trillion dollars to our economy is going to outstrip our social security increase.

Poor mother Hubbard.

Cry me a river, ci. If we want to fix the problems in this country, you would have a freeze. By the way, cost of living should be keyed to dollars, not percent, just an idea, but one that needs considering to stop the runaway growth in this Ponzi scheme that is not paid for yet.

If we don't want to fix the deficits, then let it grow with the index, but you haven't seen nothin yet, just wait until inflation kicks into high gear. We are going to be beyond broke, all because of the great FDR. And because the Dems in Congress have refused to fix this train wreck looking for a pair of tracks for decades.

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@okie,

okie wrote:

cicerone imposter wrote:

Hey, we have good news! Our benefits will increase by 5.8% starting in January.
The bad news? All these bailouts and rescue plans that adds several trillion dollars to our economy is going to outstrip our social security increase.

Poor mother Hubbard.

Cry me a river, ci. If we want to fix the problems in this country, you would have a freeze. By the way, cost of living should be keyed to dollars, not percent, just an idea, but one that needs considering to stop the runaway growth in this Ponzi scheme that is not paid for yet.

Do you plan on turning down your Social Security funds, Okie?

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@okie,

No, I wouldn't have a "freeze." I'd have a revision of the whole system that would recalculate how beneficieries are paid, extension of age for retirement benefits, and the recalculation of payments by workers and employers. On top of all that, the government must be restricted from using this "trust fund" as if they are current revenues.

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@Cycloptichorn,

My check won't fix the problem, but yes, if I am willing to make a sacrifice along with everyone else if the government would do their job and fix spending and balance the budget. I haven't started drawing it yet, but perhaps I should before the money tree disappears? I know one thing, if what I have paid in was invested properly, it would be worth a whole lot more than it is, even with the current crash.

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@okie,

okie wrote:

My check won't fix the problem, but yes, if I am willing to make a sacrifice along with everyone else if the government would do their job and fix spending and balance the budget. I haven't started drawing it yet, but perhaps I should before the money tree disappears? I know one thing, if what I have paid in was invested properly, it would be worth a whole lot more than it is, even with the current crash.

Forget everybody else: even if the program isn't changed, will you turn down your Social Security monies?

If not, then you are buying into the 'ponzi scheme' plain and simple.

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@Cycloptichorn,

No, I won't turn mine down if the rest of you guys are going to spend it instead. I paid the money in, which is spent already, but now it is somebody elses turn to have their paycheck pillaged.

This is akin to a bank spending my cd, with no asset to show for it, no collateral, they now depend upon somebody else to come in and open a cd, so that I can draw mine out. If they don't, then the bank goes into the red, until one day the feds come in and lock the doors before the doors open for business.

In the banking business, that is illegal, cyclops, people go to jail. But your beloved government is immune to responsible or legal behavior, they can do whatever they well please, to heck with us. Same with their little playtoy, Fannie and Freddie. Pathetic criminals will never be prosecuted, I will predict nothing will be done.

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@okie,

okie wrote:

No, I won't turn mine down if the rest of you guys are going to spend it instead. I paid the money in, which is spent already, but now it is somebody elses turn to have their paycheck pillaged.

This is akin to a bank spending my cd, with no asset to show for it, no collateral, they now depend upon somebody else to come in and open a cd, so that I can draw mine out. If they don't, then the bank goes into the red, until one day the feds come in and lock the doors before the doors open for business.

In the banking business, that is illegal, cyclops, people go to jail. But your beloved government is immune to responsible or legal behavior, they can do whatever they well please, to heck with us. Same with their little playtoy, Fannie and Freddie. Pathetic criminals will never be prosecuted, I will predict nothing will be done.

See, here's the thing: if you were really against SS, you'd turn it down. But instead, you will not turn it down. Once you start drawing on it, your opinion will change, and if you're lucky enough to collect 10 years of it, I predict that you will be an advocate of SS to others.

There's a reason why old folks love SS, across party lines, Okie. B/c when the money keeps showing up in your mailbox month after month, it provides some comfort to your life. You'll see, sooner or later.

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@cicerone imposter,

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourmoney/socialsecurity/articles/social_security_hike_largest_in_26_years.html

More than 34.9 million older and disabled Americans will get a 5.8 percent increase in their Social Security benefits next year"the largest hike in 26 years.

Rising inflation drove the 2009 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to greatly surpass this year’s 2.3 percent raise. The 5.8 percent adjustment is the highest since 1982.

And in more welcome news, the standard Medicare premium for 2009 will remain unchanged from $96.40. Premiums will rise only for single people earning more than $85,000 annually, or for couples earning more than $170,000.

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@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

See, here's the thing: if you were really against SS, you'd turn it down. But instead, you will not turn it down. ...
Cycloptichorn

I guess you haven't heard that participating in Social Security is mandatory, unless of course you are a government employee, which is a strangely familiar practice, make all the peons out here participate in a program they create, the same program they exempt themselves from. If I did not pay into the program, I would quite possibly be sitting in jail right now, cyclops, and when I worked for somebody else, they took the money out of my paycheck so I had no choice. Since I paid into it, I figure I should get at least some of it back.

Now if I could simply opt out, I might very well have done it, and lets see, figure 15% of what I made since I started working for both Social Security and Medicare, that would be a ton of money by now, even with the recent stock market drop, that is if the money had been invested there.

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@okie,

okie, You really are uninformed. I'm now 73 years old, and started collecting social security from age 63. I've received more in benefits than I paid into it.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year, and received radiation treatment for eight weeks. The cost for that alone would have cost between $35,000 and $50,000 according to my Google research.

That it was a mandatory program for many of us is a blessing, and yet you want to put a negative spin on it. What's the matter with you? Your brain function lacks the grey matter to think things through before you post nonsense.

BTW, that 15% you're talking about is actually 7.5% of your own money that goes into both social security and medicare. The other half is the employer match. At the very least, you should present factual information, not your imagination.

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@okie,

okie wrote:

This is akin to a bank spending my cd...

The bank gives you 2.5% interest and then loans out the money at %10+.

So why do you buy a CD?

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@cicerone imposter,

okie, Here are some recent stats on savings. 49% of current workers have saved less than $50,000. 28% of workers have no savings, and 22% of retirees have no savings.

Without social security, most living today would be in big trouble just to pay for for food.

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@cicerone imposter,

Did you add compounding interest that you would have earned to what you contributed? I haven't gone through the exercise, but I would venture to guess the amount would approach a half million by now if I did, or possibly more.

Another correction, about the 15%, it is 15%, whether you take it from the employee or the employer. I have known the 7.5% argument from 40 years ago, but its 15% total.. If the employer did not pay it, it could have paid you higher wages. So it is 15%, regardless of how the government tries to hide what is going on in all manner of deceitful ways. If they would simply make the employee pay it, as self employed people in fact do, then it would probably have saved millions, perhaps billions in paperwork, but then again the government is the government, very inefficient.

Another salient point, if retirees do in fact end up receiving alot more than they pay in, after compound interest is figured, etc., just how long will the government be able to lose money with this program before the whole thing collapses?

Also, ci, about your cancer, how are you doing, is it all under control, I hope so? I sincerely hope the treatments work. I have a friend that went through that and he now has a clean bill of health, but only after they ended up removing. The best to you, ci.

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@Miller,

Miller wrote:

okie wrote:

This is akin to a bank spending my cd...

The bank gives you 2.5% interest and then loans out the money at %10+.

So why do you buy a CD?

Right now, because it is safer than stocks. And in answer to why the bank does what it does, it needs to cover expenses and end up in the black. Also, interest is more like about 3 to 4% on cds. So when the bank loans money, it is supposed to be covered with collateral. The social security system has none, except for projected future work force, work that has not yet been done, so it is not worth a dime.

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@okie,

okie wrote:

Quote:

"Right now, because it is safer than stocks."

Who says so; you? According to Warren Buffett, it's the best time to buy into equities. Are you smarter than Buffett? Since when?

I repurchased funds from 50% of the money I had this past week from what I sold when the market was at 14,000 last year.

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@okie,

That 3 or 4 percent interest rate is also "taxable" income. So, what's the "true" return on savings?

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@cicerone imposter,

I'm not sure if we are at the bottom yet, ci, there is some discussion of this bottoming out at 7000 something. And Buffet says he has no clue what the market will do in 6 months or a year, he is only speaking long term, to buy stocks. Right now could be a good time to buy, possibly, but it also could be wise to wait a while. Regardless, the example I used about buying a cd was only an example to illustrate a principle in regard to social security.

And so what if you make another mil, big deal, I don't find it particularly interesting.

1 Reply

Social security benefits go up 5.8% in 2009

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