It is thought that in the United States a person does not need to plan or save for retirement because social security will cover our needs when we reach the age of retirement. It is thought that social security will always exist, and we will be able to live off the amount of benefits that we each will receive. This would be one of the worst thoughts a person should have in his or her mind. What kind of savings or other forms of financial income would a person is able to depend on if the social security program should happen to cease? It would be a mistake to entertain this type of thinking because social security is not only going bankrupt, but there is also a possibility that the social security program will cease to exist. I strongly urge Americans to think momentarily about the amount of benefits that he or she will receive and if it will be enough money to keep up the cost of living, and to support a family at the same time .
We, as Americans, should start to save money for the retirement years at an early age instead of depending solely upon living off social security benefits. The facts are that social security system will most likely be bankrupt or non-existent when the younger generations reach the age of retirement. The social security program has been in trouble for a number of years and is one its way to becoming bankrupt. According to The Heritage Foundation, “As millions of baby boomers approach retirement, the program's annual cash surplus will shrink and then disappear. Our children may be faced with the choice of paying retirement benefits to their parents or paying for programs that help their own children. That future is coming, and no amount of wishful thinking will change that”. (David, 2005). Unfortunately, we as nation are not producing the amount of taxpayers or children that it would take to keep the social security system functioning. It will take approximately 23 years to produce just one single taxpayer. Senator Bernie Sanders thinks that there is a way to save social security. The idea presented by this Senator is to “eliminate the cap on wages subject to payroll tax, starting with the people earning more that a quarter-million a year.” This plan is suppose to keep social security solvent for the next 75 years without reducing the benefits promised to the retirees. (Poole, September 14, 2011 ). Not only are we at risk for the social security program becoming bankrupt but also the whole program may not be in existence by the time the later generations of Baby Boomers become eligible to receive benefits. According to the Social Security Association, the Office of Retirement Disability Policy states the in 2037 this program will be exhausted. Below is a chart to show the claims of the Social Security Administrations becoming insolvent in 2037. (See
Table 1 for further information).

Table 1 SOURCE: 2009 Social Security Trustees Report, Figure II.D2 and Table

This is in the belief that women are currently giving birth to fewer children nowadays, which in turn introduces fewer taxpayers into the system. (Goss, 2010). Others Americans still believe that the social security program will always be in existence. Some people in government that believe that if we overhaul the social security program now, that it will be saved for future generations. The question that government officials are asking themselves is what types of changes are needed and how will these changes affect the future recipients of social security?
The amount of money that each of the retirees will receive may not be enough money to support their everyday living expenses but will also not be enough to cover medical costs. Social security benefits will have be cut to all of the retirement age people to sustain some form of solvency. How will we as senior citizens be able to live if we do not start to save now or make plans for our retirement if our benefits are cut? According to the Congressional Budget Office, “Health care costs are likely to continue to grow faster than the economy. Between 1960 and 2001, the average annual growth rate of national health expenditures exceeded the growth rate of GDP by 2.5 percent.” (See Table 2 for more information).
Table 2 Lifetime Social Security Benefits Under Current Law and Under a 10 Percent Benefit Cut beginning in 2012 (Percentage of scheduled benefits) Source: Congressional Budget Office.

In 2050, social security benefits will not be able to be paid. The CBO (Congressional Budget Office) also states that unless there are major changes made to the social security program, that each person’s benefits would be decreased anywhere from 20-30% to match the systems available revenue. (Cbo'S 2010 Long-Term Projections For Social Security: Additional Information, 2010) According to the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy at the Social Security Administration, “The effect of the COLA reductions would be cumulative over time, causing benefit reductions to increase the longer benefits are received. Therefore, certain groups of beneficiaries who tend to receive benefits longer than average would experience larger benefit reductions. These groups include older beneficiaries, women, whites, those with higher levels of education, those with higher income, widow(er)s, and retired disabled individuals.” (Olsen, November 2008) Seniors will not be able to pay their bills at this rate without other retirement plans .
The viability of the social security program to date looks bleak. Therefore, it would be a good idea for individuals to start planning their retirement at an early age before the reach the age of retirement. Depending solely upon social security is not such a good idea. The social security program is not only becoming bankrupt, but also it may one day become non-existent. If the government does come up with a way to save the social security program, a person still may not be able to live on just his or her social security earnings alone. We need to take charge of our own retirement plan and have another means of income other than just social security earnings. This will ensure that once retirement age is upon us, we will be able to afford to keep up with the cost of living, be prepared for emergencies, and also be able to support a family.

Reference Page

1. David , J. (2005). Social Security's Inevitable Future. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2005/03/Social-Securitys-Inevitable-Future
2. Poole, Isaiah J. (September 14, 2011). Supporting The 'Scrap The Cap' Bill Helps Save Social Security. Retrieved from http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011093714/supporting-scrap-cap-bill-helps-save-social-security
3. Goss, S. C. (2010). The Future Financial Status of the Social Security Program. Retrieved from http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v70n3/v70n3p111.html
4. CBO's 2010 Long-Term Projections for Social Security: Additional Information. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=6068&type=0
5. Olsen, A. (November 2008). Distributional Effects of Reducing the Cost-of-Living Adjustments. Retrieved from http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/policybriefs/pb2008-03.html