The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has published a new report titled How Is The Mortality Gap Affecting Social Security Progressivity? The results are simple and straightforward. The wealthier you are, the longer, on average, you live and the more Social Security benefits you'll draw. The Social Security Act was designed to be modestly progressive, that is that poorer people are supposed to get a better deal from Social Security than wealthier people, but the increase in longevity among wealthier people is partially defeating this design.
5 comments:
If someone is worth, say 5 million or more, why don't we deny them SS benefits, whether it be SSDI or retirement...honestly now? The program was designed to help the more needy. I know if I won the lottery, I would forfeit my SSDI benefits because it would be the right thing to do!
I disagree. For the long-term health and protection of SSDI and SSR, everyone needs to have some skin in the game and receive some benefit back. If there was an asset-test for SSDI or SS retirement benefits, so only poor and lower and middle class people receive benefits but everyone still pays into it, it could lead to the programs being looked at as "welfare" programs. And few people speak up in defense of welfare programs these days. It could possibly be the beginning of the end of SSDI and SSR.
it is a welfare program. You can dress it up and call it insurance, or an entitlement or what ever you choose, but the simple fact is that the vast majority of people will get more out of the program than they and their employer paid into the system. The rest is made up from current workers taxes. Medicare is socialized government subsidized healthcare.
I do not expect to get one cent of what I have already paid into this system back. I have been ripped off, lied to and deceived. Time for mass reform and redesign of this outdated and broken system.
The design of Social Security was to shade the payout to the benefit of the poor but insure that all working Americans were going to get something at retirement age.
What no one foresaw was a growing wealthy class that had the resources and inclination to truly shape political policy that would laugh off what they received from Social Security and burn over the $7960 a year the tax cost them.
Lets just have a mandatory age of death (like in Logan's Run). Then we can ensure equality!
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