Clear Direction for Your Retirement:
Will Social Security Be There?
I hope your Fall season has been a great one thus far and that you didn’t eat too much candy this past Halloween. Fret not however, you’ll get another chance to indulge the palette with Thanksgiving around the corner. I’d like to wish you a joyous holiday season, our dear reader and remember, despite the problems we face as a Nation and as a people, there is much to be thankful for. Now, on to the topic at hand.
I have written many years about the problems with the Social Security Trust Fund and the projected shortfalls that seem to simply get kicked down the road over and over again by Washington politicians. It’s easy to summarize, the longer they wait to address the issues, the harder and more painful it will be to do so. When it is addressed, it will likely be on the backs of hard-working Americans who’ve had no choice but to pay into a system that their government has successfully mismanaged. That sounds like a recurring theme of government right?
In August, the Social Security Trust Fund Trustee Report was released and the primary headline that consumed news cycles thereafter was “Based on the latest Social Security Trustees Report, the combined OASDI program will be insolvent by 2034, at which point there will be only enough incoming revenue to pay out 78% of scheduled payments”. Due to the problem not being addressed, the problem is now about 40% bigger than two years ago and the path to stability is even less stable if we are to believe the report.
Most of us understand that Social Security is an important piece of our retirement puzzle and that the importance of this income increases as we age. In fact, many younger investors are attempting to live smaller and save more due in part to the distrust of the viability of such programs. Probably not a bad idea as they watch the current day scenario unfolding.
The question remains however, how are those close to or in retirement thinking should it happen? Are you preparing with your advisor? How much “capacity” do you have in your lifestyle to make necessary adjustments? These are good to know or at least explore in advance.
Many folks believe that Congress will certainly be possible but how they do it could make matters worse and not better in the long run. For instance, raise payroll taxes and it typically leads to lower wages and fewer jobs.
Obviously, no one really knows what’s going to happen in the future so we should be planning around what we know in the present while contingency planning for the future to the best of our ability.
After all, the fact is there are no guarantees with Social Security. I didn’t say that, the Supreme Court did. In fact, the Congressional Research Service
actions SSA would take if a trust fund were insolvent.” To be sure, the problem that the SSA has is a big one, a very big one you’re doing in preparation like evaluating how/when you claim Social Security, how long you should continue to work and how to diversify dependable income streams outside of Social Security. If there is a high probability social security might not be there or will be there in a reduced capacity, your plan should be reviewed and revised in light of this.
Time will tell what ultimately happens with this critical program so get with a unique situation now. You’ll be glad you did.
I hope this is helpful to your retirement journey. Call us, come see us or visit us at , we’d love the opportunity to help address your questions and concerns and provide you Clear Direction for Your Retirement®.
