MORE SOCIAL SECURITY MYTHS

"President Bush's Social Security plan is in trouble, and Republicans are angry. They say everyone is attacking it and it is still a work in progress. They said, 'Of course it's not clear what the solution is -- we're still inventing the problem.'" --Bill Maher

The site I mentioned in my last post, www.NCPSSM.org/ is titled "School Yourself: An Advocate's Guide to Social Security - Everything You Wanted to Know About Social Security But Were Too Busy to Ask" and I did find this particular site to be most informative, answering all the questions that had been rumbling around in my mind. I had read on many occasions some of these things they speak of, the questions, the answers, but here it was, comprehensively grouped together. Below I've copied the article pretty much verbatem, so you can read much of it here, or visit their site for even more comprehensive info.

A few of the other "myths" addressed are common concerns, the ones we hear the most, in particular how the babyboomer generation will bankrupt the fund. This always seemed a weak argument, sure there are going to be many of us retiring in the same time frame, but ALL us boomers have also been paying into the fund, through these past decades of the "fattest", highest income earning periods of all time, so there "should" be a surplus of $$, besides, its all relative...

"Myth 2: "Social Security will soon go bankrupt"

The truth: If Congress does nothing - makes no changes at all - Social Security is projected to deliver full guaranteed benefits until at least 2037. Even after 2037, again without any changes, the trust funds will continue to pay 78% of benefits for decades into the future. The program was adjusted in 1983 to prepare for the baby boomer bulge. To date, Social Security has paid benefits in full and on time for nearly 75 years. If Congress enacts modest changes, Social Security will be able to meet 100% of its benefit obligations indefinitely. As one of the most successful government programs ever, the administrative costs to run it - less than 2% - are far below what Wall Street will ever charge investors for private retirement accounts.

Myth 3: "The Social Security Trust Fund is full of worthless IOUs"

The truth: Social Security's surplus is invested in American government securities. Like other government bonds, they are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States . That means that as long as the government is around, it is obligated to pay both principal and interest on its securities. The federal government has never defaulted on its bonds, which are considered one of the safest choices in an investment portfolio. The Social Security Administration provides more details on the Trust Fund here .

Myth 4: "The government is raiding the Social Security Trust Fund"

The truth: Because Social Security takes in more in taxes than it spends in benefits, it has a current surplus of $2.6 trillion invested in bonds. A bond is like a loan to the federal government that earns interest. While the federal government uses the money loaned by the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for other government spending, just as with other holders of U.S. securities, the government is legally obliged to repay the holder when the bond comes due. There has not been one case of the government failing to pay a bond holder.

Myth 5: "People are living longer, so we should raise the retirement age to 70"

The truth : Proponents of increasing the retirement age argue that people are living longer, and, therefore, can continue working for more years. Although it is true that people, on average, are living longer, these longer life expectancies are by no means across-the-board. Studies have shown a strong correlation between longevity and income. That is, most of the increase in life expectancy for those who reach age 65 is enjoyed by workers with higher incomes. This is not surprising considering they are less likely to have physically demanding jobs and more likely to work in jobs with high-quality health insurance coverage.

It is also important to note that not everyone is healthy enough to continue to work even if they would prefer working into their later years. This is especially true of workers with physically demanding jobs. While fewer factory jobs exist today than in the past, many service jobs are backbreaking, including nursing and nursing home care, janitorial jobs, outdoor service jobs, waitressing, or any job where workers have to stand on their feet all day. Millions of American workers have these jobs, and asking them to work an additional 3 or more years is often simply not possible for them physically.

Finally, while many older workers may be healthy enough to work, jobs for them may simply not exist. Although high-income professionals are often encouraged to continue working indefinitely, few employers are eager to employ 70-year-old blue-collar or service workers. In fact, older workers are typically among the first targeted for buy-outs or reductions in force when the economy contracts, and are rarely recruited by employers absent a severe worker shortage."

Granted, there are no guarantees ... in this...as in life...with wise leadership, and if most will take the time to explore the subject, look for answers themselves, rather than depend on soundbites from biased politicians, they will see that the only thing to fear is fear itself.

"Dick Cheney said he felt terrible about shooting a 78-year-old man, but on the bright side, it did give him a great idea about how to fix Social Security." --Bill Maher