Social Security Warns Benefits Could Get Cut

The Wall Street Journal ^ | 8 Oct 13 | Damian Paletta@damianpaletta

[SkyPilot]

The Social Security Administration has begun warning the public it cannot guarantee full benefit payments if the debt ceiling isn’t increased.

When asked by the public, the agency is notifying beneficiaries that “Unlike a federal shutdown which has no impact on the payment of Social Security benefits, failure to raise the debt ceiling puts Social Security benefits at risk,” according to a person familiar with the agency directive.

The warning was assembled after the agency consulted with the Treasury Department, which would play a lead role in determining how the government handles payments if the borrowing limit isn’t raised soon.

“Our employees started receiving questions from the public, so the agency worked with Treasury to provide an answer they could use when asked about the debt ceiling by the public,” a Social Security Administration spokesman...

[holden]

[Obama will] withhold SS payments to grandma in a heartbeat.

Through merger of social media and voter roll databases, accessible at IRS, DHS and SS, don't doubt that SS-receiving grandmas from the right side of the aisle can be differentiated from those on the Left and "Holder's peeps" in determining who should receive those checks and direct deposits.

Such is what the Left will do when death panels "are just too darn slow!" Sorting out such malicious mayhem may take longer than it took to get the IRS to quit discriminating against tax-exempts from the Right. (What's that you say?!)

HF

[JRandomFreeper]

I would prefer privatization, but there is not the political will to do so.

You lose 100% of the fights you walk away from. It's time to start rabble-rousing for privatization. Who would have thought one freshman Senator from Texas could stir up so much heat and noise on Obamacare?

/johnny

[Cold Heart]

Got this in my e-mail today.

Thought for the day...

We are always hearing about how Social Security is going to run out of money. How come we never hear about Welfare running out of money? And these recipients never contributed one red cent!

[Texan5]

I’m in the process of going galt, too -I live in the middle of nowhere anyway, I just need to flee further into the woods with my pets, my truck and possessions. While work is hard to get, there is money and barter in home-grown herbs and veggies, and fresh eggs.

[Reiyuki]

The problem with SS Trust fund is that SS borrowed the money from the Treasury.

SS could redeem some bonds with dept of treasury, but the treasury still has to come up with the money to pay those bonds.

So either way, Treasury still has to pay for it.

[slowhandluke]

Moreover, the average Medicare recipient reaps 3 times the benefits of what they paid in, with women reaping more than men (on the average).

I expect to get a lot more out of my 401K than I put in too. That you get more out of a savings plan than you put in is the way it's supposed to work. There is a question of whether 3X is reasonable or it should be 2X, but the way you put it is overkill.

The problem is not that you get out more than you put in, but that the money you put in was never saved. It was spent immediately and a bill totaled up for your kids and grandkids to repay. It's the Ponzi aspect of Medicare and Social Security that is the flaw.

I do agree with you that the unearned entitlements are obscene, and wonder along with the other commenter why there's always enough money for welfare but not for SocSec.

[kabar]

One third of retired Americans depend solely on SS as their only source of income. And for two-thirds SS comprises more than 50% of their retirement income.

If you look at any of the various studies on how much Americans have saved for retirement, especially those in their 50s, the statistics are shocking. The vast majority have little or no savings. SS will be their only source of income. If you think that the majority of American voters will opt for privatization, you are sadly mistaken.

I see SS and Medicare being means tested in the future. Medicare already does have a form of means-testing for its Part B premiums with various income tiers used to determine the amount of the premium,

The Dems have hooked the public on entitlement programs. Neither party wants to do away with them. This is the danger of Obamacare that will just add another entitlement program that is used to redistribute wealth and income. Eventually, the welfare state will collapse as it is now doing in Europe. The insanity is that the US is expanding the welfare state at a time when its failures are so evident elsewhere. Obamacare is just the final nail in the coffin for the US.

[kabar]

meaning there is no actuarial plan

You don't need a plan to determine if SS is actuarially sound or not.

[kabar]

The problem with SS Trust fund is that SS borrowed the money from the Treasury.

No, Treasury borrowed the money from SS.

[Redleg Duke]

I am getting social security, but I would rather delay it than knuckle under to that treasonous Keynan Son of A Bitch (Yeah, Stanley...YOU!)!

You Republicans in the House and Senate...grow a spine and honor your oath of office and your obligation to this country!

[Redleg Duke]

I agree. I have been paying into it since 1964. I can’t imagine how much money I would have if I had invested it myself.

[kabar]

I expect to get a lot more out of my 401K than I put in too. That you get more out of a savings plan than you put in is the way it's supposed to work. There is a question of whether 3X is reasonable or it should be 2X, but the way you put it is overkill.

LOL. Medicare is not an investment portfolio. It is a pay as you go system where today's workers pay for today's retirees.

This graph shows that the average man and woman (average defined in the study as average income over their working lives and living to the average life expectancy) who start receiving benefits in 2010 get over 3 times more in benefits than they pay in to the system! Of importance, the study accounts for inflation by calculating all past taxes and future payments in 2010 dollars to provide an accurate comparison.

If the notion that Medicare recipients are simply "getting back what they paid in" is false then where is the money coming from? Simply, the excess received is being borrowed from younger generations and the cost is more than we can bear.

Did you know that, by law, the Medicare Part B premiums only cover 25% of the costs? The remaining 75% comes from the General Fund. It is the reason why Medicare will consume the entire federal budget if it is not reformed.

[bgill]

That’s what they said last time just to get people riled up. Of course, Stompy Feet just may do it in his ever growing hissy fit. But that’s three weeks down the road and a lot can change.

[VRW Conspirator]

Who but the Leftists who have been using SS contributions as a piggy bank to fund all their give-away programs thought this was a good idea?

Rule #1 of Socialism: The primary beneficiaries of a socialist program are the socialist politicians. Everything after is fluff.

[joy361]

Had many arguments with my dim-wit brother-in-law. He really believes there’s a special account for his SS.

[shibumi]

I started in 1962.

I figured it out once, and trust me, you don’t want to know.

It’s quite depressing.

[musicman]

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[Hoodat]

The only entity that Social Security benefits is the government.

[TurkeyLurkey]

Not all of SS is “entitlement.”

[sergeantdave]

“Obamacare is just the final nail in the coffin for the US.”

It’s a good thing we built enough lampposts to hang all the politicians, traitors and bureaucrats. At least part of the stolen money will be put to good use.