AMAC's Founder, Dan Weber
Save Social Security Now
The AMAC Solution to the Social Security Problem
“We need to Save Social Security, and we need to save it now”
Dan Weber, AMAC President and Founder
We are in trouble!
In 2010 the Social Security Administration paid out 49 billion dollars more than it took in. If this rate of deficit continues, benefits will be cut by 25% for the next generation, and by 2036 Social Security will be 6 trillion dollars in debt. The numbers are staggering and the outlook for future generations is bleak. If we hope to keep the Social Security program solvent for the next 75 years the problem must be addressed now. AMAC’s founder, Daniel Weber, has proposed a simple solution for rescuing our Social Security system that is gaining bi-partisan support and has a real chance of success if we all come together in this effort. This simple solution combines earlier proposals from several Senators with the addition of an optional IRA.
Why Is Social Security In Trouble?
There are two problems that threaten the system. People are living much longer and we have fewer workers putting money into the system. These combined factors have put a tremendous amount of pressure on the financial stability of Social Security.
Consider the following:
- 1950 – 16 workers were paying into the system for every 1 collecting.
- 2011 – Only 3 workers are paying in for every 1 collecting.
- 1950 – Life Expectancy was 65.
- 2011 – We are living much longer. We need more money to pay for those extra years.
The Result:
- There is NO cash in the Social Security Trust Fund. SSI Tax Revenue goes to the US Treasury. The Treasury then pays the Retiree Benefits.
- The only assets in the Trust Fund are special issue Treasury Bonds… IOU’s (which must pay interest).
“IOU’s are claims against the Treasury with no real assets behind them. They are redeemed by: borrowing more money, raising taxes or reducing benefits.”
From a report by the Office of Management and Budget issued in 1999 during the Clinton Administration
Social Security is in trouble and the American people have been misled.
The fact is that Social Security is not secure until 2036, and Social Security (as we know it) will not be there for our children. It has become increasingly clear that Social “Security” does not provide enough money for a secure retirement.
- Average person on Social Security receives $13,000 per year.
- For most, this is the largest part of their retirement income.
- For many, this is the only source of retirement income.
AMAC members speak out.
AMAC has been active in meeting with government officials to discuss options for saving Social Security and we conducted a nationwide survey of our membership to help guide us in our recommendations. We asked you what we should fight for on Capitol Hill.
- Raise Taxes?
- Lower Benefits?
- Adjust the age to receive benefits and add a new Social Security IRA?
Overwhelmingly you said adjust the age to receive benefits and add the Social Security IRA!!
- This is the Simple Solution.
- It is painless.
- It will allow workers to have MORE money!
AMAC is listening to what you said and we have formulated a practical non-partisan solution to Save Social Security Now.
Key Provisions of the AMAC Plan
The AMAC Social Security Solution is not intended to – nor will it – replace or privatize our basic Social Security.
- Inclusion of a supplemental Social Security IRA.
- Age 62 is extended to 65 (early retirement – Grandfathered)
- Age 66 is extended to 69 (full benefit – Grandfathered)
- The IRA could be collected at age 62 – so workers can still stop working at an earlier age.
- Guarantee 1.65% minimum COLA (can be increased)
Voluntary for Employee and Employer
- Payroll deduction
- Tax deductible
- Minimum contribution $5 per week
- Maximum contribution $100 per week
- Owned by individual, portable
- No access to money until 62 except death/disability
- 50% must be invested in a guaranteed interest vehicle
Projected Savings Available
Based on investments with average returns, a 25 year old worker putting in only $15 per week*, would have $165,407 at age 62.
If the worker contributed $45 per week*, using the same rate of return, would have accumulated $352,389 by age 62. *Assuming an employer contribution of $50 per month.
The Social Security IRA combined with a setback in age will keep Social Security Solvent for 75 years and allow workers to accumulate a significant amount of money for their retirement.
Read AMAC’s Entire Proposal Here
YOU can make a difference! We are calling on all AMAC members to take action NOW!
Some people say we have a do nothing Congress and you can’t get both political parties to agree on anything. AMAC doesn’t believe that for a minute. We just need to help them get going by giving a friendly but firm push. Here is a simple Action Plan that takes only a few minutes of your time but if we all do it together we can Save Social Security Now.
- Call your Congressman/Senators at their local office and their Washington office. Contact your elected officials
- Tell them to Save Social Security Now by supporting the AMAC Proposal
- Send AMAC your comments below or email to info@amac.us
- Help AMAC by joining us!
Remind your representatives that what we need isn’t a Republican or Democratic solution. What we need is an American solution. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to preserve Social Security so it will be there for them in the future.
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Congressman Jason Chaffetz also has a plan in a bill that is better than is one for Social Security. It brings the fund out of debt and extends it way past 75 years. -In fact, it makes the fund permanently solvent after 75 years.
His plan is to slash benefits for those that make just over 50k per year. Not exactly rich for a family of four. A much better plan is to simply eliminate the earnings cap for FICA. This would only affect those making over 100k per year.
Stop abortion NOW! What does abortion have to do w/ SS. Everything! We have 57,000,000 million missing tax-paying citizens due to abortion. Think on that you anti-life idiots. Thanx AMAC for all you are doing. I’m a brand new member.
Lets face it, SS is basically a cousin to the Ponzi schemes that have bilked many $$$ from many Gullible folks world wide, That said, there is little Americans can do to chage it in the short run. We can bake it, fry it grill it, stew it,ts still Pay as you, dependent upon current workers to pay retirees. Solutions ride the wind like snow flakes, no two are exactly alike. So here goes my rendition: #1,.offer a return of all monies paid by anyone up to 65yrs old. Compute a reasonable rate of interest over the years SS collected the money. Note employers share is NOT included.
#2. Current and any one at or over 65 can opt for a gross payout based on insurance life expectancy. Those so chooseing option #2 MUST invest the proceeds into an IRA style investment with a life insurance annuity payout and death benefit.A penalty would be payable equal to the interest portion if the entire proceeds were not transferred to an approved IRA
#3. All employed, no exceptions, will be required to invest an amount equal to the SS deduction into a IRA type insured account that remains unavailable until age 65, and the annual income or disbursements are tax free.There shall be NO DEATH TAX. PROCEEDS OF SUCH A PROGRAM SHALL BE INHERITED as would any other asset.
#4.Employers can offer profit sharing or other IRA contribution as an enducement to attain and retain employees and shall be considered as a deductable business expense.Such program shall be transferrable to new employer IRA/profit sharing accounts.
#5. Employers will offer co-op medical insurance, payment of which shall be equally matched between employee and employer. Disabilility insurance shall also be a shared option, except to those who opt to continue to receive SS payments. Generally these Americans shall generally be those who are of an advanced age or have very limited resourses. The government safety net shall apply for those in financial situtations that escape the provisions of the system anticipated as herein suggested.
Please note that the above involve some continued limited disbursements from the U.S. government. Such a program COULD be initiated rather quickly if our leaders chose to study it and perhaps massage it a bit. I believe that a version of this plan would relieve many of the problems currently confonding SS and it’s furure viaibility. Please feel free to shred and dissect it. WE the people “gota” start somewhere to solve the entitlement delimna. AMAC has presented the champion’s glove, it’s now up to our congress and leaders from all fields to ‘create’ a solution that essentially eliminates or limits Government envolvement. God speed!
I really wanted to support AMAC until I read their Social Security plan. First off they state that they do not want to cut benefits but then support a significant increase in the retirement age. Well Duh! That IS a cut in benefits. They state that “people” are living longer. Well not all “people” are living longer and raising the retirement age to 69 would mean millions of workers would not collect one cent in retirement should they die before then. They “suggest” grandfathering these new rules and conveniently do not define the ages that the grandfathering kicks in at. Finally, they suggest that there is not enough support for raising taxes to fix Social Security. In all polls asking if the earnings cap on the FICA tax should be eliminated well over 80% support this. Even a majority of Republicans support this. There is no such cap on Medicare and even the Wall St. Journal states that the elimination of the earnings cap would fully fund Social Security for the next 75 years. I guess it’s back to AARP for me.
Think about the plan and make sugestions to improve but going back to AARP is cutting off your nose to spite your face.
First—Goto the source of the problem. The president/congres/senate.We the people must send them a bill calling for term limits; one term only. All branches. no special retirment no special insurance no perks of any kind. It will be part time ;except the president.”They won’t have so much time to think of how to take away more more of our freedoms”
Put this bill before them make them vote on it.Those that vote it down will be recalled or fired. We must do this now or it will be to late.We need news media that will take our message to all the people.
We cannot wait any longer. Weare out of time. we must start at source.
A partial solution to the SS problem would be to prevent those who have never contributed to the system from collecting any benefits ever. Additionally the double and triple dipping could be diminished by giving credit of 2.5% per year for only those years where a contribution to the SS program was made. It would take 40 years of contributions in order to obtain a full retirement benefit. All political positions would have the very same “retirement benefit” as the rest of us – NO elaborate multi-million dollar retirement packages for public service whether elected or appointed.
raising age is unfair to people that have worked and paid into social security, in hopes that people will die before they can collect what is rightfully theirs! Get obumma out of office and do away with entitlement programs that provide income to people having children they cant or wont support . You know the more kids you have the bigger the check!! and also just because you come into this country doesnt e3ntitle you to a check and free health care!!!! Lets get a grip here.
Only a thought! Extend the amount of payable income from the current $110,000.00 to $150,000.00, clip it to the CPI for another ten (10) years – then to the CPI – 1.5% for infinity.
Increase the age gradually to 68.5 – 69 (ten years or so), also the age from 62 to 64 for limited benefits (and the Widows benefit to age 62 – or reduce it from age 60 to 62, then reinstate normal benefit from then)!
For those under the age of 50 or 55 – increase their personal contributions into the system by 25% to a total of 7.75% (employer’s fee to remain constant) for those earning $100,000.00 or LESS (attached to CPI for automatic annual increases). Require a WRITTEN OPT OUT be submitted ANNUALLY with the Income Tax Return, for the On-Coming year (can be a check off box on the tax form)! Can be expanded to include those OVER the aforementioned age by written request thru your local SS office!
Also attach a rider to the bill authorizing and ‘Old Age IRA’ account in the form of a regulat IRA (or Roth – or both), under the same rules as current, for those of us not having Payroll Taxes withheld BUT still paying taxes on some of our income! This as a device to leave ‘some’ money to our children / Grand children if we so desire and have the ‘means’!
Income test those over the amount of $250,000.00 (pick a number here), allowing for, at minimum, receipt of ALL pay-ins + interest earned on the total amount paid into the system (for the individual ONLY) – to be paid-out over the actuarial table life expectancy chart.
The additional funds to be invested in the SAME devices as current OR thru Fidelity, Vanguard, T Rowe Price, PIMCO or another approved Investment company – at a rate of not less than 70 – 30% bonds to stocks. Bonds must reflect a 60 – 40% bias toward Government devices over Corporation!
Money to be returned as additional retirement funding utilizing the same actuarial tables as current, OR lump-sum in case of death to registered (authorized) dependants / relatives, or lump sum ‘on request of annuitant’ at date of retirement! May also be withdrawn in the event of an authenticated emergency (authentication is by Doctor(s) – Two (one ‘on-staff’ – one attending) – AND Hospital AdministratIon, and family member (wife, daughter, son, etc.) – at admitting hospital). Or however devised in the bill!
Just my thoughts on the matter!
Why set the cap at 150k? Just eliminate the cap and SS problems are solved for the next 75 years. BTW there is no cap on the Medicare portion of the payroll tax. Why should a guy making 150k be forced to pay the full FICA tax on 100% of his income but not someone making 150 million?
Would you send info of AMAC to my sister in law that does not have a computer??or is there some way I can send this forward? thank you
Why is SS in trouble? There are two problems that threaten the system. People are living much longer and we have fewer workers putting money into the system. These combined factors have put a tremendous amount of pressure on the financial stability of Social Security.
I claim these are symptoms of a systemic problem. The REAL problem is the fact that consumers of a service (retirement) are disconnected with the real cost. Because it is a paygo system, workers in the past (say when it was 16 to 1) contributed only enough to take care of those retired at that time. Thus past SS contributors under-contributed for the benefits they were promised. As the program has become unaffordable Congress began pushing costs onto future generations with the borrowing. So tampering with age, messing with means testing, or futzing around with contributions doesn’t't change in any fundamental way the systemic problems of SS.
It is also important to realize (Nestor v Flemming) that Social Security is a tax program and that Congress can change the benefits up, or down, at any point in time. In fact they can be lowered all the way to zero. So the only way to preserve one’s “investment” in this program is to vote and petition government. Think about that. One contributes their entire life into this system only to earn the opportunity to vote and petition government. It is important for citizens to own as many of their assets as possible.
A private IRA is a step in the right direction. The goal of the system, as it is currently constructed, is to create a “social safety net” that ensures a minimum standard of living at retirement regardless of previous savings, luck, or earnings. This has the effect of creating a moral hazard in that people, knowing they were guaranteed this minimum standard, will not make the tough choices they need to make. Better is to more directly connect a person’s efforts at creating a good retirement with the retirement they actually achieve.
With that in mind it seems to me there should be a voluntary path that would allow people to set a standard of living target for retirement and work to achieve that .. no limits on contributions and relaxed limits on investing. After all we are talking about adults who should have the right to try and achieve more and, yes, fail. A way to do this that makes sense is to begin devolving more of the management to the states. That creates an issue or two with portability but it shouldn’t be too bad. That we we have 50 laboratories who can look into the way in which we can promote better savings and ultimately a better standard of living at retirement with less wealth transfer from generational peers or, worse still, younger generations.
The notion of the “supplemental IRA” is kind of silly – that is available to anyone, today. The *fundamental* problem with SS is that your private property (income), is being drained away from you for your entire life. Privatization is the key for retirement funding. If the “tax” remained your private property (even with IRA type restraints on its use), the govt then never gets its hands on it, and the actuarial/demographic problems go away. Your savings follow you (and your demographic) – it is not dependent on the number of current workers vs the number of current retirees. You can retire whenever you want to, if your fund is large enough. The corrupting influence on DC is gone (the temptation of unlimited funds). You no longer have frightened elderly voters being coerced into voting patterns because somebody else controls their income.
Not stated (as far as I saw) in the proposal is who holds the IRA money. I sure hope it isn’t the government, as letting them hold SS is one cause of our problems.
Whine. Why do we put these limits on people $100/wk savings? If we wish to promote savings why not let people save as much as they reasonably can save? As people go through life they are able to save much more … IRAs recognize this an allow people to “catch up” as they get older. I don’t see any logic at all behind limiting savings to $100/wk.
Get rid of about 95% OF BENEFITS in ssi that people take advanage of.
Do away with about 95% of the programs in ssi that people take advanage of.
The warning bells have been ringing for the last 40 years on SSI and our congress has only nibbled around the edges for a solution. As long as there is a hard decision to be made to solve this our congress will not do it. I truly never believed the day would come when I would recognize the congress and President regardless of party as inept, incompetent, selfish, power hungry, greedy, individuals but the day is here. They are only capable of giving not taking away. Also Social Security has been used to fight wars (Viet Nam) and float every feel good stupid entitlement idea congress has to buy votes. According to the Wall St. Journal the disability claims against SS are skyrocketing because people feel this is also an entitlement regardless of their health. We all know people on disability who are working or doing physical tasks of perfectly health individuals.
Again as the Obuma administration and also a bunch of Republicans cannot stand the idea of not being in power they will continue to buy votes with SS handouts. I am surprised it is not paying for the retirement of all Mexicans in Mexico and letting them vote in the US elections.
I hope it changes but at my age I do not want to hold my breath. My money is on nothing gets done.
I have to agree with Tony Torreano. Through the years the government has “borrowed” from SSI to fund several entitlements & pork barrel effort which help no one but them. Why don’t they pay back what was borrowed by reducing the deficit. Also SS was originally set up to give the Working Public and their Spouses an income at retirement not just anyone who reached retirement age. I can even see the disability payment if they were disabled on the job. I may be wrong and a lot of you may disagree with me but that’s my opinion and you’re entitled to yours.
A simple and intlleinget point, well made. Thanks!
Why oh why is there not more talk about the idiocy of the 2% “payroll tax” (read Social Security Tax or FICA). The Pols have changed the name to make the younger generation forget that it is there to fund SOCIAL SECURITY, and should not be messed withl
The 2% payroll tax “holiday” de-funds Social Security and both parties supported it.
When I worked for the state of Massachusetts about 45 years ago, the plan they had then was very simple:
you had them take from 5% – 15% of you’re pay and put it in an account for you, which you had control of, so that when you retired you would have enough money to, basically, live on.
they did not take any SS out of your money because, as it was explained to me, this is the way to have more in you’re pocket, and at the same time save for your retirement. BTW you could not take anything from the account until you reached retirement or left the governments (state) employment and then you had to wait 3-6 months for the returns if you left employment.
The one thing I will never understand is why we as citizens should have to pay into a PONZI scheme rather than using something like the formerly mentioned system with guards against early withdrawal.
I like AMACs idea and will fully support it by doing everything I can to help make it a reality.
SS in NOT a Ponzi scheme…..it has worked for over 75 years……government withdew funds (borrowed, but hasn’t paid back yet), then the recession and all that has happened for the last several years…..has made it lose $$$. Why would anyone want to put $$ into an account that you NO guarantee it will be there when you retire? Haven’t you been reading the paper or listening to the news…..look at all the bank failures, Wall st failures, where people lost thousands of $$$ and now they sit with nothing at the age of 75…..what are they supposed to do? Any ideas?
Chrisy,
I understand how you feel but there is no guarantee that Social Security will be there at age 75 either. It is still there now but what about in 10 years? It is irrelevant what was done with the money by the government in the past, the fact is it isn’t there now and they cannot pay it back. The number I heard is that to pay back Social Security is a $50 Trillion dollar price tag. There isn’t that much money in the World.
A private investment account with a guaranteed interest rate on 50% and safe alternative investments for the rest WILL return more money to you, if started early in life, than Social Security will or does. If SS is left as it is you WILL receive less and less when retired, and will pay more of it in taxes as they raise taxes to support the program.
Social Security was a bad idea when it was created and was poorly managed and robbed every year since by the Government who uses the money to reduce its defecits. This program should be phased out over the next 30-50 years in favor of a plan like the AMAC plan or something else. No one near or at retirement should lose anything but those folks under, say 50 years of age, should be provided with another alternative where the money is there money, the government can’t touch it, and it can be bestowed as part of your estate when you die. That cannot be said of Social Security.
Merry Christmas
If you read the article you can see that it isn’t working any more nor has it worked financially since 1950. Not only have people begun to live longer than they planned, but it is not used exclusively for social security any more. Liberals and moderate conservatives have allowed the fund to be used as a Ponzi scheme first by allowing people to benefit that never paid into it, then giving special benefits to dependents, increased disability benefits (which is being horribly abused today), to illegals, to immigrants, and every tom dick or harry faction that may help a legislator’s re-election fund. Then they income added taxes to it to make it seem like we’re getting our “fair share”, kept increasing the rate taken from our pockets, turned it into a General Fund, and now it is nearly worthless, You can thank our legislators for turning an entitlement program that was only supposed to HELP fund retirement – because at that time people were more responsible about saving for their retirement or lived with family- into a mismanaged, fraud-ridden general fund. You see, our legislators don’t have to worry about their retirements – they will live very handsomely with the pensions they receive after only 6 years on the job, so what do they really care? Kinda makes you sick. Oh yes – and if they work long enough for the state or local governments they can add those pensions to their federal. AND they get great health insurance when they retire. That’s also what’s taking money out of SSI, in my opinion. TERM LIMITS!
Yes I have an idea how about an account the government can not take money from and not replace it with an IOU that has no collateral value. How about money market accounts and several different types of bonds. These things have not lost their value. The banks went broke because they were buying and selling mortgages that had no face value. Your government helped this by letting Fanny may and Freddy mac change the standards on how to secure a loan. Our government you got to love it they all have pensions we pay for and we get stuck with Social Security. I thought they were suppose to work for us.
Chrisy,
Let me respond to your post line by line.
“SS in NOT a Ponzi scheme…..it has worked for over 75 years”
A ponzi scheme is defined as: A fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. The Ponzi scheme generates returns for older investors by acquiring new investors. This scam actually yields the promised returns to earlier investors, as long as there are more new investors. These schemes usually collapse on themselves when the new investments stop.
To wit: early investors in the scheme, the current elderly, benefit greatly. I know a woman who put $40 in one year in the sixties. When she retired, she received around $400 per month for over a decade. THAT is a high rate of return!
Your money has been STOLEN from you for 75 years (read my section on trust below)
“government withdew funds (borrowed, but hasn’t paid back yet),”
Congress withdrew ALL the funds in 1935. If, as you say, they haven’t paid it back yet, then I think its is safe to assume they spent it.
“then the recession and all that has happened for the last several years…..has made it lose $$$”
SS monies are invested in “safe” interest bearing government bonds. The market should have NO effect on the returns of these bonds. What is making it “lose money” is the fact that there is more money flowing out than flowing in–when this situation happens in a private ponzi scheme (think Bernie Madoff) the operator either leaves town or goes to jail (personally, I like the old-fashioned punishment of lynching). In a public ponzi scheme, they simply change the rules (which they have done at least 36 times since SS inception).
“Why would anyone want to put $$ into an account that you NO guarantee it will be there when you retire?”
No one *wants* to pay in, the government *forces* us (“new investors”) to.
“Haven’t you been reading the paper or listening to the news…”
I try not to read the propaganda printed in what we euphemistically call “newspapers”.
“…look at all the bank failures, Wall st failures, where people lost thousands of $$$ and now they sit with nothing at the age of 75″
Many people trusted the banking system and the government to “protect” their wealth, in spite of a mountain of evidence this was the wrong thing to do. They have now been repaid for that trust. There is an entire generation of people who believe what government spoon-feeds them and are just now coming to realize that they have been deceived. Perhaps they can now transfer their insights to the next generation.
“…..what are they supposed to do? Any ideas?”
I agree that losing your life savings at 75 is a dire situation. However, I have two comments.
1. My grandfather paid into three pension funds plus SS in his lifetime. His family scrimped and saved knowing that the pensions would make life easier once he retired. However, two of the funds went bankrupt due to mismanagement and the manager of the other stole ALL the fund assets and moved out of country. Grandpa and Grandma were left to get by on SS. They lived on SS for over thirty years. My point is that, even after retirement, a person can survive on SS. It is not comfortable, it is not preferred but it can be done.
2. I fail to understand how misfortune, “bad luck” or poor planning on someone else’s part translates into a legal claim on my earnings or savings.
There are two Ben Franklin that are apropos here:
“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”
–Our country is on the verge of this now.
“The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.”
–Teach your family what you have learned. Don’t let your hardship go unrewarded.
What is wrong with this picture? We the employed working folks, pay into this dilligently and it is being plundered and given away? WTF?
Would we simply sit back and say “so be it” if it were our local bank duping us? Lay there and get our pockets picked and give the impression we can take without even one wimper of discontent or protest?
Coming is a time when we will have to rare up on our hind legs and demand restitution and apology for the theft.
Start making noise, protest, write to your friendly benovelant congressman, who cares dearly for your rights and privlidges.
yeah right.
Social Security was ( check me on this) not a Tax but a forced retirement savings plan.
Why do we refer to it as a Tax? I understand the necessity of this retirement plan but what I don’t understand is the
federal government taking money out of the fund? This was not theirs to touch. Instead of putting the brakes on spending
we allowed them to take our nestegg and fund government over-spending.Every company and private citizen has to live
within their means or risk going out of business or losing their homes but our elected officials seem to feel that there is no bottom to our pockets.Sadly the sociopathic cream of the crop have been allowed to operate freely with a “carpet baggers “mentality which,I feel in time will cause the ruination of this ” The Greatest Nation on Gods Green Earth”
It was originally billed as an Insurance program. That’s why it is called SSI.
Why do people that never paid into SS get a retirement. If they kept the SS distribution just for people that paid into it and only for Social Security not programs they make up for illegal’s and other programs not should not come out of our SS funds.
Regarding the question of a Social Security IRA is different from the current one offered all working citizens appears to me to be the same concept as we use in our current IRAs – but it would allow taxpayers to increase the amount they could put into a SS account – tax free – which would allow for more saving/investing and reducing the taxes paid by the individual.
SS is no more than a bernie madoff scheme. Put congress in jail like bernie.
the first thing we must do to save anything is get rid of OBAMA, THE BIGGEST FRAUD IN AMERICAN HISTORY,
THIS IS A CRIMINAL THUG WHO SHOULD BE IN PRISON THEN DEPORTED BACK TO KENYA.
Don’t you think that Social Security has been misappropriated to people who have never contributed to it. Is there anyway to back many of these people out of the system and quit bringing so many people on board. Should not the welfare of these people brought under other funding? I agree with Glenda Alford that it should not be open for officials to dip into and they should find other coffers for the welfare of people they want to care for this was made for the workers and their families not for every bleeding heart. Of course it is kind of late to address this as it seems that whereever the officials can find a way of stripping us of the money we rely on they never back out of it. I am just getting fed up with the constant government take over and think that it actually takes away our ability to help one another in many ways making us less of a nation and more of a government orphanage!
I agree with AMAC way of fixing SS. I would like to know what age person is grandfathered in to the present system and what age person would start on new system in your proposal. Thanks for the great idea.
Yes – interesting they left this one out.
I reply to Mike C. on what is different from the SS IRA than other IRA’s and 401k”s–
In reading their material:
-All employers would have to provide a payroll slot for the SS IRA (whether we join or not)
-50% of funds have to be in Guaranteed interest accounts (so we can’t lose all our money)
-We can’t get at the money before age 62, that would make sure it is there when we need it.
Now if we could only get Congress to listen.
I keep waiting for some group to bring up the “cap” on Social Secuirty withholding. No one ever does. If SS needs more funds remove the “cap”. As long as anyone is earning money, wages, interest, dividends, etc. they should pay into Social Security. We have no “cap” on what we owe the IRS – should be the same for Social Security.
I would be interested in AMAC’s thoughts on this solution.
Raising the Cap would accomplish nothing, but just hide the fundamental problem. There is a “cap” on contributions because there is a cap on benefits. Why should one have unlimited liability for a program where you will have only marginal return – and they are even looking at means-testing that – so there is a very real possibility that you would be taxed up to 15% of your income (not employer matched), but receive no benefits! The other argument against raising this cap is that the problem is not today, but tomorrow. If you raise the cap – they will just spend it on the other programs, increasing the level of debt of this program, and making the default problem bigger, down the road….
Eliminating the cap would fully fund Social Security for the next 75 years. Per the Wall St. Journal.
Are you kidding me? Is that a sane voice I hear in the wilderness? You mean the sky isn’t falling in the world of Social Security! How refreshing!! AMAC I am a new member and am so happy to be on board. News flash Congress, there are answers if you stop pandering and start listening.
Please emphasize to the people about the (IPAB). Independent payment advisory board appointed by Obama. The Death Panel for seniors and the sickly. The 500 billion dollars cut on Medicare. Why the illegals are benefiting our Medicare and Medicaid whom we contributed in our whole life, Illegals did not, they have free Health care, free food stamps, free educations. Etc.
Why Obama and his administration Sued Alabama and Arizona in protecting our borders. CAN “WE AMERICAN PEOPLE” SUE OBAMA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION FOR NOT ENFORCING THE IMMIGRATION LAW?
We should talk about topics that will influence people to listen. No more nice guy. What you get if you are nice, and complaisant… YOU GET A STUB ON THE BACK. Thank you.
I like AMAC’s suggestion and we all know that something needs to be done. However our career politicians will not do anything but lip service to this issue. The only way we will get anything done in the House and Senate regardless of which party is in control is if we have Term Limits. We cannot continue to have people who spend their lives figuring out ways they can pad their pockets on the tax payers dole. Look at Barney Frank who has spent YEARS working for himself and his fat cat friends.
Term Limits and enacting laws instituting same policies for the elected officials as they vote for their constituents….then we might see some change in Washington DC.
My comments:
Make our Congress have to depend on Social Security (SS) for retirement benefits like the rest of the country
Keep illegal immigrants off the SS roles
Raise the minimum ages at which SS benefits can be claimed
Allow younger folks to have other options besides SS to guarantee their futures other than a government-run program
Keep money collected for SS in this program and AWAY from politicians that want to use it for other reasons
But I do agree that SS has turned into an entitlement and it has gotten to a point where it will be VERY hard to get rid of it, especially with all the people who have paid into it for years expecting to get their share.
I only wish I could recover the money I have paid into this program because I think I could have done a better job investing and growing it than the government has done, plus I would be accountable and responsible to myself ONLY for how the money was used.
Newt has proposed the most well thought out solution for Socialist (original intent) Security. It is quite similar to this one. Too bad not more people were aware of the problem when the FDR regime put it out in the thirties. I was employed as a part time clerk in a grocery store at the time. Had an uncle who was able to see that the program was a typical political trick and so I have been opposed to it since then. Don’t cry over spilled milk; keep voting the “old guard” out of office and listen for a true conservative to replace them. GO NEWT!
For years our Congress has been stealing from Social Security with no intent to pay back and also why are they giving social security money to illegal alliiens.
They need to stop giving millions of people that are not leagal in this country.
You want to fix Social Security? Make the Senators, Representatives, President Etc. use it for their retirement and their health care let them be on Medicare too. You’ll see how fast it will be fixed.
Social Security was a bad idea when it was first conceived and it has not gotten any better. In my opinion, we need to abolish it. I’m not talking about a cold turkey kind of event. Protect those who have been led to believe they depend upon it and do not have sufficient time to build their own retirement fund. The remainder will be burdened with helping to pay for the phase out. Perhaps those who are gainfully employed and will be grandfathered to receive some benefits will bear the greater part of that burden.
Our founders set up a government that was as nearly perfect as one could get. Its most serious flaw was that among the freedoms it guaranteed was the necessary freedom to destroy it. At first the destruction was miniscule, barely perceptible. By the time it became an out-of-control cancer (now!), it is too late to fix it, short of another revolution to return to the government we had originally. No, I don’t mean the short-lived socialist experiment at Jamestown. I’m talking about the original Constitution that most people think still controls our government. I couldn’t believe it when I recently heard a presidential candidate make some comment about the great democracy that governs us. Was he sleeping in civics class when it was explained that our form of government is a constitutional republic and that the founders were abhorred by anything that smelled like a democracy. To them it was a no-brainer that democracy quickly leads to despotism and third-world status.
We need to rid our government of deadly, cancerous socialistic programs and get back to what worked so well until we allowed greed to corrupt it.
We’ve paid into Social Security all our working lives and now is being called an entitlement to be done away with. The government needs to go back to when SS was mixed into general fund and account for every penny not spent for SS payout. And hold those in power responsible by withholding their salaries and benefits until this is done. Maybe the same for giving us a balanced budget again. The fact that we are being double taxed for Social Security benefits is immoral and a shame on the fat cats that vote themselves huge raises and super benefit packages while the little guys have to count pennies and either eat or buy meds or pay utilities. Why has this become the American way!
I agree with the age adjustment idea; but, how is the Social Security IRA part different than what is available now through existing IRA’s and/or employer-matching 401K’s?
Social Security was never meant to be tax, but it can be now. This should be in with your other suggestions.
Why didn’t you address the fact that our officials have dipped into SS for years. It was never set up for or intended to be another source of revenue for the gov. to take from. The money taken for things other than what SS was set up for will never be replaced. Stop allowing the gov. to dip into funds as they see fit.
Way to go, Glenda! You hit the nail right on the head, when you said the “…officials have dipped into SS for years”. What actually happened, is that during the Johnson administration, the Congress decided they needed the SS money, removed it from its location, and placed it into the General Funds. Then, they, and their successors, spent whatever amount from it they wanted. I think each of the 545 Congressional members, should contribute a substantial amount to the SS fund-and leave that money where it belongs! Oh no, you’ll never see that happen, and I don’t know of anyone who could make them do it, unless a large part of the population would complain to their politicians and each state force their own legislators to comply. All I can say is, good luck to us.
We know there is something wrong with the present system, when members receive a cost of living increase and Medicare B premiums go up, thus leaving you less than you made before!!!!!
We also need to get rid of the required distribution (RMD) from our retirement plans.
AMAC is to be congratulated for taking on the Social Security problem.
Your solution seems realistic and I don’t see how any reasonable person would be against it.
we just have to get the politicians in Washington DC to get moving and do something!!