Posts Tagged ‘#social security’
The Nurse . . .
. . . in the doctor’s office yesterday
was going to give me a memo
but when she reached into her pocket
she pulled out a rectal thermometer,
which prompted her to explain,
“Some asshole has my pen.”
Boomers Retirement Wealth
Surpasses Predecessors
The initial generation of baby boomers who are now in their 70s have accumulated more wealth
at the same age than their previous generation, according to research compiled by the University
of Missouri-Columbia. The results do not support the commonly held stereotype of free-spending boomers.
Boomers have more than triple the amount of savings in stock funds compared with their predecessors. This could affect proposed Social Security reform that encourages even broader investment in
equities since the government program is designed to be a hedge against increased exposure to stock-market risk.
Researchers compared financial records of the first generation of baby boomers – those
born between 1945 and 1957 – with those of the last generation of pre-boomers born between
1933 and 1945.
Got A Telephone Sales Pitch . . .
. . .the other day
for a burial plot
and I just told them
that’s the last thing I need.
Scammers Always in Season
A Social Security scam linked to tax time can reach you any time of year via e-mail, telephone or the postal service. The thieves offer refunds of Social Security taxes you’ve paid over the years, an attractive lure during the economic slough in which everyone has been wallowing.
This is not, repeat – not – even remotely connected to the Social Security Administration.
The schemers usually offer to file a refund claim with the Internal Revenue Service in return for a percentage of the refund and an up-front fee of $100 or thereabouts for doing the paper work. The only sure thing that will happen is that you lose whatever money you send to these crooks.
I Used To Think . . .
. . . I was indecisive,
but now I’m not so sure.
Seniors Straining Economic Support
There were slightly more than 900 million people – about 12 percent — around the world aged 60 years and older in 2015. This number is expected to increase to 1.4 billion by 2030, an increase of more than 16 percent. By 2050, one out of five people – 2.1 billion scattered all over the globe — will be 60 or older.
Almost 90 percent of the Japanese believe this is a problem. Only one out of four Americans think this way. Since most of these people will be out of the work force, they will have to have fashioned their own retirement plans or be supported by somebody. Most people in most countries think the government should take care of its elderly. This socialism brush could be wider than anticipated and affect how the nations of the world are governed in the near future.
This rapidly aging population is creating an unprecedented set of problems, including a rapidly spreading and more diverse set of diseases, increased spending of time and money on health and long-term care, labor shortages, and steadily rising inflation chewing away at old-age income. Adding calluses to the problem is the fact that Social Security payments will probably be lowered when the surplus in the trust fund is depleted. The $2.9 trillion in reserves reported in 2020 is expected to be spent by 2034 – a year earlier than previously estimated.
When that happens, benefits payments will probably be slashed by about 25 percent if adjustments aren’t made in the meantime. This is happening because the millennium surge into the retirement age and the dwindling labor force that has Social Security support deducted from their paychecks. Simply, fewer workers will be paying for more Social Security recipients. While every elected official in Washington and every economist in the country knows the problem exists, no one has made any moves to fix any part of it.
Never Let It Be Said . . .
. . .is a mantra that has survived through the ages,
so I will never say it again.
Seniors Straining Economic Support
The globe is heading toward a challenging population problem that could develop into a crisis, or even a calamity. We’re aging.
There were slightly more than 900 million people – about 12 percent — around the world aged 60 years and older in 2015. This number is expected to increase to 1.4 billion by 2030, an increase of more than 16 percent. By 2050, one out of five people – 2.1 billion scattered all over the globe — will be 60 or older.
Since most of these people will be out of the work force, they will have to have fashioned their own retirement plans or be supported by somebody. Most people in most countries think the government should take care of its elderly. This socialism brush could be wider than anticipated and affect how the nations of the world are governed in the near future.
This rapidly aging population is creating an unprecedented set of problems, including a rapidly spreading and more diverse set of diseases, increased spending of time and money on health and long-term care, labor shortages, and steadily rising inflation chewing away at old-age income.
Adding calluses to the problem is the fact that Social Security payments will probably be lowered when the surplus in the trust funds is depleted. The $2.9 trillion in reserves reported in 2020 is expected to be spent by in 2034. When that happens, benefits payments will probably be slashed by about 25 percent if adjustments aren’t made in the meantime. This is happening because of the millennial surge into retirement age and the dwindling labor force that has Social Security support deducted from their paychecks.
Simply, fewer workers are paying for more Social Security recipients. While every elected official in Washington and every economist in the country knows the problem exists, no one has made any moves to fix all or part of it.
Not only are populations around the world aging, they’re having fewer kids. That means a diminishing number of workers burdened by a growing number of seniors.
Overheard The Woman . . .
. . . at a nearby table today,
tell her meal mate
that she ran into her ex-husband on her morning shopping trip,
Then she backed up and ran into him again.
Aging Politicians Ignore
Aging Population
While there have been loud voices bemoaning the fact that we’re not paying enough attention to climate change, there isn’t even a whimper about what’s happening to our population change. It’s paradoxical that the greying heads in government are paying little attention to the graying of their constituents.
The voters’ rolls are aging at the rate of 10,000 over-65ers every day. You’d think that all those silver-haired politicians would be looking hard at how to accommodate the needs of folks who are growing old just as they are. Even the aging talking heads on television seem ignorant of what’s concerning a growing segment of their viewers.
The apparent reasoning for this blindness to a massive problem is the mantra that 70 is the new 50. And the spreading myth that age is simply a state of mind. Several studies topple this trend in thinking by supporting what we’ve always known – ailing and aching increase as you get older.
No matter how Pollyannaish we may feel, our odds of falling victim to such widespread debilitations as Alzheimer’s disease increase the longer we live. While health-care is high on the list of promises by those seeking votes, the focus usually is on the young who have inadequate coverage rather than the elderly who cannot care for themselves.
Another major concern is the strength and stability of Social Security. Predictors tell us there will be about two workers supporting each recipient by the early 2030s. This was not in any forecasts when there were more than 45 workers for each recipient of benefits when the program was instituted back in the 1930s.
Mature Life Features 