Not to be negative on such a day as this, but I got my annual Social Security statement today. I look at it each year, and compare how I'm doing year by year. Then, sometimes I look at the numbers , and I get befuddled.
First, the bad news. Last year, I made roughly the same amount of money in 2006 as I did in 1996 - and I didn't exactly light the world on fire in '96. The good news is I made most of it in about 8 months, so 2007 looks very bright, as long as I can keep myself from getting dragged into a fight with the idiots in my shop.
Now the odd part..... According to the Federal Government, if I retired at 62, I'd get $830 a month, $1178 at 67, and $1461 if I worked til I reached 70. Now, if I become disabled I get $1268 a month for life - STARTING TODAY!! The purpose was to provide money to retire on, but I can chop my hand off or pull my back out, or get so fat that I can't work, and I'll get more month than if I busted my tail into my 60's...... How is that? I can see Rhino's comments already!!
Is it just me, or does this reward laziness or lack of upward mobility? Could it be the usual case of a program with honest intentions eventually getting warped into a monster? Congressman? Anyone?? Bueller?
4 comments:
I look at mine very close every year as I am going to need it to subsidize my retirement. It seems to never change.
Mike, darkly it seems that the Ponzi scheme known as Social Security (the Al Gore slush fund) hopes that you'll despair, die early and they'll never have to pay out on your account...
BTW Mikey, don't they (the SSI folks that ought to be thrown down the well in song of honorary Yankee Borat) call it SSI Supplemental, meaning that they still expect you to have other resources?
Of note from other sources, in a retirement cash flow quadrant lifted from Kyosaki, that one element that a major brokerage/investment counselling house recommended was to consider the FTJ/PTJ to make "retired" ends meet... would you like fries with that (extra sodium, extra trans fats, extra cholesterol; early demise and more in the SSI "trust fund")
I know I got a little age on you but I was looking at my last statement and if I retire on disability I get 1720 a month at 62 it is 1301 and at 66 it is 1753 and at 70 2337 a month. We both better start saving more.
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