I see an economic diasater coming...

[triffid]

If congress doesn't do away with SS it looks like those of us already on it could recieve it for quite a while to come.  Worried about the future of Social Security? You're far from alone. The Social Security Administration itself has said that unless something is done to reform the system, it will burn through its funds within the next few decades. Less talked about, perhaps, is the concern about the present: the program is having a hard time paying its bills. In 2010, the Social Security Administration collected less revenue in taxes than it needed to cover its benefit payments â€" the first time expenditures have exceeded income since 1983. As a result, the program had to tap its $2.5 trillion trust fund, sooner than some had expected. The same is expected to happen this year. "The depth of the recession has slowed down revenues to the system," say Eugene Steuerle, an economist with the Urban Institute, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C.

A Social Security spokeswoman points out that interest income from the Treasury bonds held in the trust fund will allow it to keep growing until 2022 â€" even if the agency has to siphon off some money to offset any shortages in tax revenue -- and won't be exhausted until 2036, when the first Gen Xers begin retiring. But that's already one year earlier than previous projections. After that, the agency says tax income under the current system will only cover about 75% of benefit payments through 2085.

[triffid]

So 2085 there might still be a form of SS?Although I feel less secure knowing that China is financing some of my retirement.triffid


A poster feels the same way I do.  I have China to thank for part of my retirement!

As long as they put any surplus into Government Bonds we will be broke because the SS can not redeem the bonds without the Government borrowing more $$$ from China. There is no surplus as it is on loan to the Government.

[triffid]

Ill be 94 in 2036.Of course I plan to live to be 150 at least.Dont laugh Elvis is still making money,so is Albert Einstein.triffid

[triffid]

Most people within ten years of age 62 have already started doing the Social Security math problem: How much do I get if I wait one year to take payments? How much if I wait two years? To get the biggest bump in benefits, workers have to delay their benefits beyond full retirement age â€" around 66 for people born before 1957, closer to 67 for people born after. (To find your exact date, see Social Security Online.) For every additional year you wait, you'll get an 8% increase in payments until you hit age 70. Someone who earned, on average, $50,000 per year over their working life would get $1,900 per month at 66, but $2,505 if he waited until age 70 â€" a 32% boost. "You'll get a bigger benefit amount for the rest of your life," says Dennis Marvin, a financial planner in Cleveland.

If you've already started collecting benefits and you're under full retirement age, it's not too late to get a raise. One strategy: Go back to work. If you earn more than $14,160, the Social Security Administration will dock $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn. But once you reach full retirement age, your benefits will be recalculated to account for the money you didn't get while working. So, for example, someone who took their benefits at 62 â€" at a 25% reduction compared to full benefits â€" but went back to work from ages 63 to 66 and earned enough to zero out his entire Social Security check could end up collecting close to full benefits at age 66.

[triffid]

By JONNELLE MARTE

9. "If you make too much, we'll tax your benefits."
Your Social Security benefits come from paying taxes while you were working, so surely they can't be taxed, right? Wrong. You may in fact be taxed on your Social Security benefits if you have substantial income from other sources, such as dividends, self employment, investment interest and other sources. And studies find many Americans aren't aware of the fact: Some 42% of pre-retirees surveyed by the Financial Literacy Center did not know that benefits could be taxed if their income in retirement exceeded a certain amount.

The rule is that if your combined income -- a measure that includes other sources of income and half of your Social Security benefits -- exceeds $25,000 for an individual or $32,000 for a married couple filing a joint return, you may be taxed on up to 85% of your benefits. People who find themselves in this group can make quarterly estimated payments or choose to have federal taxes withheld from their benefits. The Social Security Administration says the provision to tax benefits became law in 1983 and was "intended to restore the financial soundness" of the Social Security program and Medicare.