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 ...
I’m retired, but I’m 60 so not yet eligible for SS benefits. I keep thinking about when to claim once I get to that point and I have a hard time coming up with a good argument for waiting past 62. My SS full retirement age is 67, which makes the break-even point for claiming at 67 versus 62 17 years out from 62. In other words, if I waited until 67 to claim I would not start to see a financial advantage to that decision over claiming at 62 until I was 79. That’s a powerful incentive to claim early, even though I know life expectancy is longer these days.
The bottom line is that any decision is a gamble, since none of us know how long we’ll live, and therefore the best decision depends greatly on personal circumstances. I just figure that having to wait until 79 years old to begin to see any financial advantage to waiting could be a bigger gamble than claiming at 62. And those earlier years after retirement are when we’re most likely to feel like doing things like traveling or engaging in active hobbies, so we’re likely to spend more money during that time than when life inevitably slows down (with the acknowledgement that increased medical expenses later will certainly balance out that equation somewhat).
so yes, even with savings in retirement accts, SS is the bread and butter....
there is no break for seniors unless you and your spouse bring in less than $40,000 a year or have a disability etc....
the $40thou figure hasn't changed in a decade even though everything else has gone up....
its like the $200 death benefit from SS....
seriously, we may have to get a divorce on paper so one of us who has the lesser "income" can be the sole owner of the house to avoid the taxes.
here, from older neighbors, is how senior citizens feel, in case the article author has any doubts:
“A 3% raise when the actual experienced cost of living has gone up over 20 percent on most necessary or regular items and services, is a royal RIPOFF!
we paid into this Stinking (In-)Security for MANY years...
they promised us Cost of Living Adjustments, but
they give us Insulting Krap.”
I got a pleasant surprise when my tax bill arrived this year. It was almost half of what it usually is. I already had had my property taxes frozen when I turned 65. So on a $350,000 house I paid $1,100.00 in taxes.
Most of what I call the Simon Legree Freepers, hate the minimum wage, don’t believe in the free market for labor, free market for wages and want to offshore every piece of the manuafacturing economy overseas. Most have TDS and post anti Trump crap daily.
What???
There is another category to consider. A friend of mine was a master machinist for Westinghouse. He made good money, and put some away for retirement. Then when he was about 45, Westinghouse closed his plant. Production was moved overseas.
All of a sudden, there was no demand for his skills. He found another job, but it paid nothing like the old one - maybe a dollar over minimum wage. So my friend had to draw on his retirement money to keep the family afloat.
This guy now depends mainly on social security. Not his fault. He did everything right.
I they would just make robots pay into social security we could have a ully funded soc. sec. system out to infinity. By robot I mean any device which replaces human workers so atms and self checkout lines need to pay into social security for the workers they displace. Of course industrial robots if they replace ten humans then they pay into ss the amount those ten workers would pay.
Biden family..
Yesterday hunter appeared on camera.. Dressed in a suit.. Shaved, hair combed.. And gave a speech that someone with clout would give.
My mind went to other pictures of him.. Disheveled, drugs, video of him raping his niece.. And he had the gall to walk away from a summons..
Hunter, you have no clout.. You are the dregs of society.
My mother, bless her heart explained Social Security to me sixty years ago. She told me “social security was meant to give old people pocket money so when they were old and living with their children, they didn’t have to depend on them for everyday expenses. It was never meant to sustain a lifestyle of an employed person. My monthly S/S payment is 20% of what my paycheck was. I’m in good shape, I always saved 20% of my salary. The era of employer based retirement pensions ended with the 401K. Social Security by itself is pocket change.
I took mine at 62 and used every cent of it to buy a medical insurance policy til I was able to get Medicare 3 years later. My husband was already retired and on Medicare and I had a part time job offering no benefits at the time.
If you’ve been working gigs as a 1099 Independent Contractor and you faithfully pay your taxes, you’re still left without a pension.
I retired at 62 as well and took SS. I did the math and it would have taken 15 years to make the difference up if I waited till 67. I didn’t start saving for retirement until I was 45.. I didn’t think I’d live to 45 so I put the maximum away. Wife did the same.
SS was not designed to live on, it was to help. It should never have been a program period and should be phased out.
“If you’ve been working gigs as a 1099 Independent Contractor and you faithfully pay your taxes, you’re still left without a pension.”...
...If that’s all you do in planning for your “retirement”.
Same reason I took mine at 62...15 years for me to make up the difference if I took it at 67.
I have had several part timers come to me and ask I cut their hours because SS will be cut.
“....I took SS at 62 because I’m pretty sure , given my medical condition, that I’m not going to get it for very long.....”
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I hope you are wrong and live to a ripe old age.
We (spouse and me) are 67 & 66 still working full time and saving as much as possible. The plan is to start collecting SS at 69 & 70. In 2023 we are living on one paycheck saving the other, but we are in catch-up mode. So many of my friends and co-workers are unprepared to finance their retirement, thankfully we are ok but would like to be better prepared. Debt free mortgage paid and some cash on the side.
Al Capone was a rookie compared to them...
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