Essay on Retirement Planning

Our nation ensures social welfare through Social Security. However, the United States cannot ensure the welfare of its own welfare system. To save Social Security, Americans in general do not favor an increase in the payroll tax, a cut in benefits or an increase in the retirement age. Furthermore, Americans are relying upon Social Security as their sole source of income at increasingly alarming rates. Social Security is intended to supplement retiree income, not account for 100% of it. Through elimination of the potential options, that leaves one necessary action: invest the Social Security trust fund in the stock market.

I have read many articles that say the amount you save for retirement depends on X, Y and Z. They all say that one size doesn’t fit all, but we are not saying that. In this article, you will see solid numbers and you will see usable percentages that you can apply right now to your 401K savings plans.

Currently, the United States is contemplating at a forthcoming Social Security crisis. If changes are not forged, the Social Security system will not be able to keep up with the demanded payouts and is estimated to empty the trust fund around the year 2037. In this paper I will review a brief history of the Social Security program, touch upon the eligibility requirements, discuss what economists believe about the future of the Social Security Program, and finally state the Pros and Cons to the proposed raising of the age requirement for minimum payout.

Hello to all those that want to retire one day. I would congratulate you, but at this very moment, one of most important government systems has a major problem. Today our country is stricken with a depleting social security fund, one that is predicted to run out in less than 20 years. In the past, every politician and leader has tried to push this widely underrated issue to next in line but ultimately causing more havoc on all of us. Throughout our country, many are unaware of the circumstances that will come from this catastrophe. Although I am still very young, one day I hope to enter the workforce and eventually retire, hopefully receiving the same benefits that those before me have received. Of course, I’m talking about Social Security, the federal insurance program that provides benefits to retired people and those who are unemployed or disabled. But as of now, this looks doubtful due to the already overwhelming amount of people who receive Social Security that is causing the system to divulge into its trust fund. The present Social Security issue is not one that an individual can change by him or herself but rather if we all work together and go to our legislators we will be able to solve this epidemic.

Today, the certainty of receiving sufficient benefits solely from Social Security for a quality standard of living after retirement is indefinite. Baby boomers—individuals born post World War II between 1946 and 1964—are beginning to claim their benefits, and given what I have learned in class, the number of individuals entering the workforce is inadequate to sustain such a large population, thus such generation will consume

The social security system, established by the federal government in 1935; is currently one of the most costly items in the federal budget. The purpose of the system is to provide for Federal old-age benefits, and to enable social insurance and public assistance. The proposal of moving to an entirely new system would give the people living in the United States their own individual authority of controlling their own investments. If social security does not become privatized; the system itself will turn unsustainable, the retired and disabled will not fully receive their earnings; and the people of the United States will continue to have no control over their investments.

After its passage on August 14, 1935, Franklin Delano Roosevelt regarded the Social Security Act as “a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means completed” but whose purpose is to “take care of human needs and at the same time provide for the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.” The very opposite of soundness, however, was achieved. Today, looming deficits and abuse of the program have left it the focus of many debates. At their conclusion, the discussions generally only point toward making it more difficult to receive the money you put in, back, and raising taxes drastically on those still working to provide benefits for the disproportionate amount of retirees. Its problems are vast, but a permanent solution has yet to be decided. Far less discussed, however, is if the program itself is worth saving. Because of

The Social Security Act was originally one of my New Deal Programs to deal with the instability of retirement in the United States but I saw the opportunity that it could also do more than just that. The good people of the U.S. cannot always control whether they keep or lose their jobs. To combat unemployment rates, the SSA will act as a safety net for people that have been laid-off until they could find another source of income. Money will be taken out of an employee’s paycheck to help pay for Social Security. Two percent of all paychecks will be affected. Older Americans, the handicapped, and dependents were also given the money. In the beginning, about sixty percent of the workforce will be covered by Social Security but I predict that in about sixty years that ninety-five percent of the workforce will be covered. “Initially 60% of the workforce was covered by Social Security (by 1995, 95% of the workforce was covered)” (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum - Our

The United States’ Social Security system was implemented by Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935 as a part of the New Deal during the Great Depression “to frame a law which gives some measure of protection to the average citizen and his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age." Although the system has proven to be one of the most popular programs ever established, its future has been questionable for some time. According to the Social Security Administration (2008), “People are living longer, the first baby boomers are nearing retirement, and the birth rate is lower than in the past. The result is that the worker-to-beneficiary ratio has fallen from 16.5-to-1 in 1950 to 3.3-to-1 today. Within 40 years it will be 2-to-1. At this ratio there will not be enough workers to pay scheduled benefits at current tax rates” (Social Security Administration [SSA], 2008). This issue concerns many citizens, especially younger generations, and continues to be a hot topic of debate amongst politicians. Many ideas have been proposed about how to reform the current system. The most popular of these ideas is to create an entirely new system consisting of mandatory pension accounts which would allow individuals to accumulate a balance over time with investment options such as stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. This argument will show why Social Security should not be replaced by a mandatory private pension system.

     There is much-heated debate on the issues of Social Security today. The Social Security system is the largest government program of income distribution in the United States. People are concerned that they won't see a dime of what they worked so hard to contribute into the Social Security system for so many years. Social Security provides benefits to about forty-three million Americans. Not only to retired workers, but also to their spouses and dependents of the workers who die prematurely. It also provides benefits to disabled workers and their dependents. Social Security appears to most people like a simple retirement saving’s account. After all, you generally

B. Relevance Everyone is faced with the prospect of living their “golden” years without a paycheck. Social Security will very likely NOT be available to people currently younger than 40 and if it does survive will not be a

I. (Attention Getter) Only 2 people out of the 19 responses I got from the survey have started saving for their retirement.

One of the very first topics that I will elaborate on is the economic aspects of my later life. As of November 13, 2016, I have had an account opened for my retirement fund. Its pertinent that I, personally have this account. I have this account to be my cushion to “fall back on” if any of my other plans for aging do not fall through. “Currently, the full benefit age is 66 years and 2 months for people born in 1955, and it will gradually rise to 67 for those born in 1960 or later.” (National Academy of Social Insurance, 2017)

(5) Currently SS funds are collected and distributed on a pay - as - you -go (PAYG) system in which Social Security taxes from individuals are immediately distributed by the means of the SS Administration as it sees best fit. This means that taxes collected are not reserved for the individual who has paid them: in Rose 2 the current state he or she must rely on those persons paying SS taxes during the time of their retirement (Becker). For a number of these characteristics and future issues, the Social Security System must be reformed or completely abolished to meet the needs of tomorrow. The leading concerns of Social Security that merits the immediate initiation of reform are the demographic and economic circumstances in the coming century. Even though "forecasting the economy and budget over such a long period is uncertain" there remain many "certainties" regarding problems facing Social Security in the first half of the 21st century (OMB, Budget Perspectives 23). The Federal Government's responsibilities extend well beyond "the five- or six-year window" that has restricted the focus of recent budget analysis and debate. Of these "certainties" are the mounting challenges posed from the baby-boomer generation. This generation, born in the years after World War II, is aging

     As and investor, you are overwhelmed with advice in newspapers, magazines, and mailings discussing what to invest in for a successful retirement nest egg, when to start saving for retirement and who to invest with. There are millions of people who realize that an investment portfolio for retirement is necessary, but do they really understand the investment instruments and the amount they must invest for tomorrow? The subject of retirement is a fascinating area but it also could be a fuzzy subject without the correct amount of knowledge, understanding and professional guidance. The number one question of concern for individuals facing retirement issues is whether or not they