Looks like that puts you in Leavenworth, Miami, Douglas, or Johnson County. Some Counties, it would only go up $84.
Have fun down on the farm...setting there on that "sack of seeds".
Posted on 12/13/2023 11:27:33 PM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
While Social Security is set to increase by 3.2 percent in 2024, many seniors are worried about how the limited inflation adjustment will keep them afloat.
In a new report from Atticus, a majority of seniors voiced dissatisfaction with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2024. In total, 62 percent of the 400 Americans over the age of 62 in the survey said they were unhappy with the payment bump.
"About that 3.2 percent COLA increase for 2024, well, it sounds good on paper, but, honestly, it's not quite cutting it for seniors," Christopher Hensley, financial adviser and the president of Houston First Financial Group, told Newsweek.
The concerns are growing, as nearly three in five seniors said they were struggling financially, and 70 percent of single seniors already struggle with their existing Social Security income.
The ramifications of the small COLA boost could be severe, with around two in five seniors saying they plan to seek employment due to the modest increase. For single seniors specifically, 47 percent said they would consider employment to supplement their incomes.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
That doesn’t even cover our three furry little hooligans’ cat food.
My conclusion is correct. Constructing an Excel spreadsheet which calculates break-even time for various interest rates, rather than the 0% which the government uses in its examples is only a moderate complexity task. I did this 20 years ago a little bit before I retired.
A very interesting point comes out of the exercise. As the presumed return on invested money, the interest rate, increases the break-even time also increases, And, somewhere between 7% and 8% break-even time becomes infinite. Even if you live to 1000 you are better off taking SS at the earliest possible time.
But where do you get 7 to 8% on your invested money? Well, the US stock market has returned a compound average growth rate of between 10% and 11% for well over a century. Sure there are risks and the return is not the same every year, but on average that has held up.
Many financial writers will try to tell you that there is more risk with stocks than with SS, but this is not really true. The SS Trust Fund is currently projected to run out in 2033 and under current law SS will only be able to pay 77% of current benefits. Even worse, the depletion date keeps moving closer in time with almost every Trustee's Report.
No one knows for sure, but my best guess is that SS will be means-tested in the not too distant future. For anyone with savings this will result in a decrease in benefits.
Another huge risk in relying on SS payments lies in the inflation adjustments. SS inflation adjustments just do not keep up with reality. I have far more trust in the S&P 500 and its ability to keep up than in SS.
The data is there, most of it is free for anyone to see on the internet.
I took it at 62 because I wanted to retire! My wife was already retired.
Next, who knows about tomorrow? Get it NOW, while the getting is good.
Don’t get greedy, take it as soon as you can. They are COUNTING ON you WAITING. (and dying while waiting or certainly sooner, the longer you wait to start)
Its like the casinos. THEY ALWAYS WIN! You win, but someone else loses. You win, but the next time you LOSE! (and the time after that)
There are a lot of maybes and could bes there.
He is what we know for sure about waiting until 70:
—8% a year increase guaranteed from 62 to 70—no stock market risk
—That turns into an effective 12% a year increase guaranteed (62 to 70) for the household if the lower income spouse’s SS would be half of the high income spouse (true in my case)
—In addition that means doubling the benefit if the surviving spouse is the lower income spouse (in my case my wife is almost ten years younger than I am so that is a very possible, probably even likely) outcome.
—All of this is in the form of an annuity until both spouses die—both of my parents lived to their nineties and my wife’s mom is still alive—so one of us is likely to be around for at least a couple of decades past seventy.
The main risk of all of this is degrading of social security over time.
That is a real risk—but I would argue that all the “big picture” issues that make that happen would affect the stock market as well—everybody is riding in the same boat.
I have to admit I didn’t “plan” well.
I told a friend that I didn’t know if I could afford to retire. I was 68 years old at the time.
He told me about a financial advisor he trusted. My friend is a lawyer and a CPA. So I made an appointment with the advisor.
After analyzing our situation, he said not even 5% of his clients were in as good shape for retirement as we were. If we both lived past 100 we would still be in good shape financially.
That was a few years ago. I told him recently that I don’t understand how that happened. I made a decent salary, but not a great salary. And I never came up with an investment plan. I just put money in our 401K and the company pension plan and I bought company stocks. His response was, “You lived within your means.”
“Our biggest expenses? Property taxes and medical. And those continue until we die.”
And.... those will continue to go up until you die.
Wouldn’t it be nice if Big Government actually rewarded or helped people save for their retirement?
Let’s face it. Government leftists couldn’t care less that the “”common folks”” are struggling. It happens every time these elitists are ‘in power’. It’s a pattern. A deliberately orchestrated pattern. And their intent has become more clear over the past decade.
To leftists, the more people dependent upon Government, the better. And human lives lost are merely collateral damage in the fulfillment of their agenda (Covid-19 fiasco).
Wouldn’t it be nice if Big Government actually rewarded or helped people save for their retirement?
The solution to every problem is more govt whether liberal or conservative.
By the way, there were a lot of tools the govt did provide us to use.
I understand what you are saying, but there is an underlying assumption that needs to be addressed. We need to stop looking for govt for solutions.
“You lived within your means.”
That is the ticket right there! It sounds like you did well.
DH and I could buy a bigger house/farm, more stuff, expensive cars, but we know someday we need to retire so we are careful. One thing we are doing is upgrading everything (appliances) in our home when needed now so hopefully we don’t have those expenses later. Even though we always bought used cars, we bought a new one this time with the hope it will last us 20+ years. We are pretty good at limping things along until they fall apart… not sure we can do that with the newer stuff though 🤷♀️
PS…
The biggest expense we will have in retirement is property tax. Our home is extremely overvalued - I don’t think we could get a fifth of what they say it’s worth. Our property tax has gone up 8-fold 😳
The Leftists are decrying the fact that the elderly are not giving up their homes, to allow younger people access to housing.
This is the way they will try to squeeze out the elderly.
I believe it.
They have already started rezoning my neighborhood and building low income housing, on the same street as million dollar homes.
Tell me that’s not social engineering.
Medicare is going up $10.00.
Looks like that puts you in Leavenworth, Miami, Douglas, or Johnson County. Some Counties, it would only go up $84.
Have fun down on the farm...setting there on that "sack of seeds".
SS was the greatest financial scam in history until Climate Change/Global Warming appeared. Worker pays income tax on the SS amount BEFORE it’s deducted (after tax deduction). Employer matches (worker gets no credit for this amount although worker is the one producing it). Government takes in these funds and spends them immediately. Government then issues “special bonds” reflecting the amount it has “borrowed “. These “special bonds” pay a much lower interest rate than TBonds (another government boondoggle). If the SS funds (both employee & employer amounts) would have been invested for 40yrs in an S&P 500 index fund, the employee would have a retirement account infinitely larger than is current. Also, keep in mind that said account ends upon death. If the employee dies before drawing benefits they get nothing but the$250 death benefit. The final injustice is if your income exceeds a certain amount, your benefits are taxed again. What a wonderful deal for Washington.
YOU ARE ASSUMING THAT THEY EVEN HAD AN IRA.
SMALL businesses did not offer such when we were working—1957 forward
CANNOT build much Soc Sec benefits when you are grossing $5 an hour.
MY Dad died in 1980-—43 years ago this month.
HIS Monthly Soc Sec check was $252. His property taxes were over $2000 a year. I supported lots of his expenses for his last 7 years....and I wasn’t making more than $7.50 an hour. Had 2 jobs his last 3 years.
HE earned as high as $12,000 a year in the 1950’s.
That was ALOT of money then.
ALL the persons on various FOOD supplemental $$$$$$$$ got an increase of 12.6% on Oct first.
i got a $66 increase in my SS, will help me out a bit.
would be nice to have a lot of money in my 401k, but life is what it is.
I have been self-employed since 1980-—I paid in both sides==15.3 percent.
Here in Reno area, machinists are hard to find-—Most places are working 2 shifts to keep customers happy.
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