Good Financial Reads: Let's Talk About Social Security

The Social Security 2100 Act was recently introduced by the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. The reinstatement follows the Social Security Administration’s latest forecasts that the trust funds will deplete in 13 years. In this episode, Grant dives into the status of the Social Security Trust fund, some potential solutions to buffer its reserves, and his overall thoughts on the proposed bill.

One of the favorite American pastimes is making light of the government. Whether that’s joking about the ogre known as the IRS or slow mail delivery from the Post Office, we’ve all had an interaction or two with government that was less than stellar. Social Security is also an easy punching bag. Many folks say, “Ain’t no way I’m going to get my Social Security the way things are going!” But sitting behind joking statements like this lies a real life, unspoken question. Namely, “Should I count on Social Security in Retirement?”

For many of our clients who are working near the end of their careers the natural next question that comes to mind is when do I take Social Security benefits?  Over the life of your career you have continuously been paying into Social Security.  It makes sense you would want to maximize any available benefit that you could receive.  This allows you not to have to lean on your outside savings nearly as much.

Most American citizens have not experienced a society without Social Security.  We take largely for granted a system that nudges over 10 million seniors above the poverty line; one that, for 1 in 4 seniors, provides 90 percent of the income they rely upon for food and shelter.

These statistics beg two questions: