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Social Security Future

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Why is Social Security running out of money? On the first day that the Republicans controlled the House of Representatives was back in session, the Republican majority passed a rule restricting the transfer of money from the Social Security retirement fund into the Social Security Disability program. Some feared that this would lead to the Social Security Disability Trust fund going bankrupt by the year 2033. But before I could answer this question I had to first ask myself, what is Social Security and how would it affect me in the future?
Social Security is a program first initiated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935 and it was designed as a safety net to support retirees and the elderly, before he started the Social Security …show more content…
However, now as a result of a 1983 Amendment, waiting to retire until age 67 reaps the most benefits. Subsequent amendments over the years have also expanded the realm of care to the disabled, dependent children, surviving spouses and others. Problems with Social Security have arisen over the years mainly due to change in the population. In the year 1935, there were 16 workers for every social security recipient in the United States and now it is closer to a 3 to 1 ratio. In 1975, it was reported that taxes soon wouldn’t cover social security payments. So the taxes went up and benefits were reduced. In 1983, a similar crisis occurred and President Ronald Reagan formed the Greenspan Commission to study and suggest solutions to social security but no real fix was …show more content…
Currently the numbers from the government suggest that most people 65 and older receive social security and that money represents 38% of their income on average, that’s a good number, but many Accountants and Economists now urge people to view social security as supplemental rather than a primary income. However, reports also suggest that half of older married couples and 3 quarters of unmarried older people rely on social security for a majority of their income. Experts say that at the current rate, the Social Security Trust Fund will be bankrupt by 2033. But, to be clear, that doesn’t mean millennia’s wouldn’t get any money from the government, they will still get some; they just won’t get all of the benefits that previous generations experienced. They’ll get about 77% of original fund estimates unless, a major social security overhaul happens which some people in politics, like Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts are already calling for. This means that without any changes to the system, if you're in your forties or fifties today, you may not have access to the Social Security benefits during retirement, even though you're paying into it now. The money that we pay through taxes is not the same money that we will receive when we collect benefits. Instead, it's primarily a pay-as-you-go system where the money we and our employer contribute now is used to fund payments to people who currently receive

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