Bluerobin
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Post by Bluerobin on Mar 11, 2011 11:14:30 GMT -5
After I retired early, my accounts took about a 30% hit, but I decided not to re-enter the work force. If you can plan a way around market fluctuations, you are doing well. What if there was a big downturn on the portion you self directed right at retirement time? A lot of folks will be screwed. It has happened.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 11, 2011 11:15:15 GMT -5
I don't think they should lift the cap, either. A few small changes will go a long, long way in fixing SS, which, in fact, isn't broken until 2037, which was really the point of the article. So why the h**l are you being so stubborn and combative lately?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 11:17:08 GMT -5
I don't think they should lift the cap, either. A few small changes will go a long, long way in fixing SS, which, in fact, isn't broken until 2037, which was really the point of the article. So why the h**l are you being so stubborn and combative lately? huh?? I exude love like a 60's flower child.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 11, 2011 11:17:12 GMT -5
After I retired early, my accounts took about a 30% hit, but I decided not to re-enter the work force. If you can plan a way around market fluctuations, you are doing well. What if there was a big downturn on the portion you self directed right at retirement time? A lot of folks will be screwed. It has happened.
Did you re-arrange and re-allocate your self directed retirement funds to an allocation that suited your approaching retirement status? The equities markets have recovered since the lows of 2009, nearly 100%? Have you shifted out of bonds now, which are at highs?
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 11, 2011 11:17:52 GMT -5
huh?? I exude love like a 60's flower child.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 11:18:09 GMT -5
After I retired early, my accounts took about a 30% hit, but I decided not to re-enter the work force. If you can plan a way around market fluctuations, you are doing well. What if there was a big downturn on the portion you self directed right at retirement time? A lot of folks will be screwed. It has happened. You poor bastard, retiring early. ;D
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floridayankee
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Post by floridayankee on Mar 11, 2011 11:18:31 GMT -5
But I don't agree that we should wait until it is broken to fix it.. have we learned nothing>? Apparently not. They keep trying to "fix" something that is pretty much unsustainable.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 11:19:31 GMT -5
But I don't agree that we should wait until it is broken to fix it.. have we learned nothing>? Apparently not. They keep trying to "fix" something that is pretty much unsustainable. It is sustainable. They just need to adjust the parameter.
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floridayankee
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Post by floridayankee on Mar 11, 2011 11:22:43 GMT -5
After I retired early, my accounts took about a 30% hit, My only question would be....why were you invested in that much risk when you were that close to retiring? My high risk accounts sank like a stone while my stable accounts declined very little. Retirement investing 101....Generally the closer to retirement you are, the more stable your investments should be.
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Bluerobin
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Post by Bluerobin on Mar 11, 2011 11:24:36 GMT -5
Arch I was a 60's flower child. You have only read about them and don't come close. SF I reallocated like crazy and have made most of it back. Believe it or not I still have a few bonds, but am waiting for them to be called. Still is hard to beat their rate.
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floridayankee
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Post by floridayankee on Mar 11, 2011 11:26:34 GMT -5
It is sustainable. They just need to adjust the parameter. Make social security more secure by decreasing benefits and reducing the number of recipients? Again, where is the security part come in to play?
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 11, 2011 11:27:29 GMT -5
SF I reallocated like crazy and have made most of it back. Believe it or not I still have a few bonds, but am waiting for them to be called. Still is hard to beat their rate.
Yeah, I won't lecture you on bond rates and market value. LOL
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 11:27:48 GMT -5
It is sustainable. They just need to adjust the parameter. Make social security more secure by decreasing benefits and reducing the number of recipients? Again, where is the security part come in to play? I am not sure of the question.. The security part is in the name.. social security.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 11, 2011 11:30:56 GMT -5
I am not sure of the question.. The security part is in the name.. social security.
Where is the security in the payment of benefits, which can be changed at the will of govt and/or special interest groups?
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fairlycrazy23
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Post by fairlycrazy23 on Mar 11, 2011 11:33:05 GMT -5
The Galveston plan still looks pretty good even after the financial meltdown, so I think privatization is still an option, except that it is probably not politically viable.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 11:33:51 GMT -5
I am not sure of the question.. The security part is in the name.. social security. Where is the security in the payment of benefits, which can be changed at the will of govt and/or special interest groups? The congress can change anything at any time.. . Social Security was started almost 100 years ago. A lot has change in that time. Unfortunately social security was not one of them.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 11, 2011 11:38:01 GMT -5
Social Security was started almost 100 years ago. A lot has change in that time. Unfortunately social security was not one of them
Actually is was in the early 1930s... 80 years ago. Plenty has changed in SS in my life time. Benefits and types of benefits have changed, income caps, rate of the tax, etc.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 11:38:50 GMT -5
Social Security was started almost 100 years ago. A lot has change in that time. Unfortunately social security was not one of themActually is was in the early 1930s... 80 years ago. Plenty has changed in SS in my life time. Benefits and types of benefits have changed, income caps, rate of the tax, etc. Good. They need to keep updating it to keep up with the changing world.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 11, 2011 11:40:54 GMT -5
Good. They need to keep updating it to keep up with the changing world.
One other change they made was raiding the SS trust fund. The age at which full ss benefits can be drawn also needs to be raised incrementally.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 11:41:49 GMT -5
Good. They need to keep updating it to keep up with the changing world. One other change they made was raiding the SS trust fund. The age at which full ss benefits can be drawn also needs to be raised incrementally. We agree...
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Bluerobin
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Post by Bluerobin on Mar 11, 2011 11:45:36 GMT -5
SF, most of the bonds I bought were at a discount. I am only behind on one, which is a triple tax free (also bought at a discount).
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Mar 11, 2011 11:47:24 GMT -5
SF, most of the bonds I bought were at a discount. I am only behind on one, which is a triple tax free (also bought at a discount
You bought OID bonds(Original Issue Discount).
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Bluerobin
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Post by Bluerobin on Mar 11, 2011 11:50:48 GMT -5
Nope, I bought on the open market, after they depriciated.
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henryclay
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Post by henryclay on Mar 11, 2011 13:00:43 GMT -5
I don't know if this is important or not, but I just checked with the Social Security Administration and they told me there was no $3600 cap for a couple, or anybody else. They said ss benefits are paid based solely and entirely on age and earnings records.
It may be that recommendations have been made to cap the benefits, which may be a smart move, , , , except as long as your own benefits are not capped, (to heck with everybody else).
With the country going in debt 5 billion dollars a day there better be some brakes in the works somewhere.
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rockon
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Post by rockon on Mar 11, 2011 13:02:35 GMT -5
SSI has had many changes since it's beginning including who can collect it. Many children are now on this program. My daughter babysits for a small child who has heart problems who has been collecting SSI for years. This program should be the easiest one to balance because it is paid for by direct contributions from the employee and the employer and should be a stand alone account from our general budget. One would simple have to agree on who qualifies for benefits and how much and then adjust the rate of contribution up or down to cover the agreed expenditure. Not that it matters now but if our greedy incompetent politicians had their fingers broke when they reached in the jar we wouldn't even be having this discussion but we could certainly agree to keep it out of their reach moving forward.
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floridayankee
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Post by floridayankee on Mar 11, 2011 13:19:26 GMT -5
Make social security more secure by decreasing benefits and reducing the number of recipients? Again, where is the security part come in to play? I am not sure of the question.. The security part is in the name.. social security. So it's simply a play on words...sort of like government intelligence? I guess I figured that a government retirement program called Social (as relating to society as a whole) Security (make secure/safe) would actually provide some financial security in retirement. It's not really doing that if a) you keep yanking the carrot away by increasing retirement age, b) decrease benefits, or c) begin means testing a portion of society out of the benefits of a social program they are forced to pay in to.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 13:21:54 GMT -5
SSI needs an overhaul. I would start by taking a good look at psych diasnoses... especiallly in children. ADHD should not be an SSI qualifier (etc.) ... I think this is the area which actually suffers the most abuse, and i think often when people say that they know people getting welfare for years and years, what they are probably getting is SSI and not welfare.
FWIW... they sent me home from the hospital with SSI papers for my daughter, i never filled them out. Yes, she had a cleft, but there was nothing she needed at the time that i couldn't provide for her... maybe if we were poor and she needed speech and i couldn't pay for it, i could see asking for help... (or i guess if there was no SCHIP... because that is the only way she has insurance, born with a pre-existing condition).... but I couldn't see what they handed them out routinely....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 13:24:11 GMT -5
I think secure means you can afford basic food and housing... but that doesn't have to mean everyone gets to live on their own... i think senior apartments, or roomate situations are fine... if you didn't save anything and rely only on SS... then you should have your basic needs met by SS, but that doesn't mean they need to be met beyond basic... If you have to Golden Girls, its not a bad thing...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2011 13:31:21 GMT -5
I am not sure of the question.. The security part is in the name.. social security. So it's simply a play on words...sort of like government intelligence? I guess I figured that a government retirement program called Social (as relating to society as a whole) Security (make secure/safe) would actually provide some financial security in retirement. It's not really doing that if a) you keep yanking the carrot away by increasing retirement age, b) decrease benefits, or c) begin means testing a portion of society out of the benefits of a social program they are forced to pay in to. raising the retirement age and reducing the benefits for wealthy individuals will allow the security part of social security to continue.
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henryclay
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Post by henryclay on Mar 11, 2011 13:42:06 GMT -5
It may be news to some, but Social Security was once a real, honest, died in the wool sacred TRUST FUND. It was a completely different and separate account with money in the bank. Lyndon Johnson was running deficits so much that he pulled the Social Security Trust fund into the annual budget process for the sole purpose of borrowing the dollars and issuing IOU's to the Trust Fund, and thereby and showing small overall deficits. But the true national debt continued to soar. A glance at the national debt clock will show that the 14 plus trillion we think is the debt is not even as much as the social security debt alone, and the social security prescription drug debt is bigger still. www.usdebtclock.org/
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