Common Social Security Retirement Questions
June 16, 2009
As Baby Boomers are getting closer and closer to retirement, they have many questions about Social Security, such as…
Will Social Security be there for me when it’s my time to retire?
We’ve heard for years that Social Security is going broke. Millions of Americans rely on Social Security to fund all or part of their retirement, so this is a huge concern in our country. So, just how true are the rumors that Social Security is going broke?
According to the 2009 Social Security Trustees Report, Social Security benefits paid out will exceed revenues starting in 2016, and the trust fund could be exhausted by the year 2037. Once the trust fund is exhausted, benefits will still be paid out, but the taxes collected from workers will only be enough to cover 76% of the benefits promised.
While these numbers are definitely alarming, the chances that Social Security is allowed to fail are minimal. Most likely we will see reforms such as raising the full retirement age, raising the income limit that Social Security taxes are paid on, and reduced benefits for future recipients (it’s less likely that people already receiving benefits will see their benefits reduced).
What is Social Security? A Brief History…
June 14, 2009
Social security programs first appeared in Europe in response to families moving from farming to working for others as the world became industrialized. Germany established the first social security program way back in 1889.
In the United States, the Great Depression triggered an economic crisis that caused millions of seniors to become impoverished. President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the Social Security Act in 1935 in an attempt to provide economic security for the elderly.
Under the original Social Security retirement program, only workers received benefits , and only retirement benefits (there were no survivor or disbility benefits under the original Social Security program). In 1939, the act was amended to provide benefits to spouses and children for both retired and deceased workers.
The monthly retirement benefit didn’t begin until 1940, and the first recipient was Ida May Fuller, a retired legal secretary. Ida May continued to receive benefits until she died at age 100.