How much money is in the Social Security Trust Fund?

I'll post the answer later in the day, unless someone knows the answer.

There is NO "trust fund". That's a farce. SS money goes into the general fund just like other tax money.

The trust fund has no cash on hand. It is made up of congressional I.O.U.'s for the money they have squandered from the fund. Remember Clinton's "surplus"? It was made up of a great deal of SSI money along with the outrageous capital gains of the dot-com era.

When the Republicans talk about SSI running out of money in about 15 years, what they are talking about is when revenues from SSI taxes will fall below payments. This is the moment when I feel SII is bust. (Just about the time I plan to retire!)

When the Dems talk about SSI being "solvent" for the next 40 years, they mean when the worthless I.O.U.'s run out. The reality is the crunch will come much sooner.

I am not sure if the President's current plan will work. The cost to make up the amount moved to private accounts seems enormous since it will move the shortfall ahead by many years.

However, my bigger concern is the loopholes that may exist to allow people to borrow against private accounts. What happens when these folks reach retirement age and there is no money in their private accounts.

The system is clearly a mess. Listening to the Dems who want to sit back and wait (Don't worry, we have 40 more years!) are clearly wrong.

At 51, I am not counting on SSI for my retirement. My wife and I are investing every dollar we can in my SEP and her 401K.

Jim Cavanaugh

That's why Bush wants to have the "guest" worker program. So the government can get payroll taxes from those illegals who don't currently pay them. I'm joking.....maybe.

It wouldn't matter one bit if they did start collecting those SS taxes or if they raised the ceiling on income that can be charged SS tax if the government doesn't stop spending it!!!

Anyone ever see "Dumb and Dumber" Well Jeff Daniels and Jim Caray find this case of money and go looking for the owner. Along the way they spend a bunch of the money and replace it with these little folded up IOU notes that they couldn't possibly ever repay, but promise they will.

That's how I see SS: The empty case full of IOUs is the SS fund and the government is "Dumb and Dumber"

I have no specific plans to retire by 65, although I may want to when it gets closer. My dad is about to turn 81 and still goes to work 6-8 hours everyday. I'd like to have more time off to travel and do other stuff, but I think I'd get bored if I had too much freedom.

Still have to get off my ass and get started on a 401K for whenever I'd need it. We've done other stuff over the years but not much.

Saulphx comments leads to a new thread within a thread: at what age do you plan on retiring? There's no way I plan on working till 65. At the most for me will be 55...that's why I'm putting alot away in IRA/401K now.

I dont plan on living long enough to worry about it.

Mandatory retirement for me will be 55...but I plan on working till atleast 65...I don't count on SS being there for me when I retire...that is why I am putting as much money away as possible.

Ladi

I am getting ready to retire now at 60 and I have been working for 42 years. I remember when I first started working and looked at SS tax and said I'll never get any of this back, same as young people are saying now. I am still not sure I will get it but I hope I do.

What people have to look at is what SS is supposed to be, a "saftey net" and it was put into place because the stock market and the economy were not reliable. IRAs & self directed IRAs were put into place so we would have a portable (something you could take from job to job) way of saving for retirement tax free. Since then 401Ks and other retirement plans have been implemented as well. Anyone who does not invest in these retirement plans to the full extant they are allowed have there head in the sand.

I started to contribute the max into IRA accounts as soon as they were available and between those accounts and my SS I should have enough to get along.

I do not think that investing part of SS into the market is a good idea because you are then risking your future which is why SS was invented. Don't forget that the market is a ponzi scheme similar to SS if more people aren't buying then those that are selling your down. I am sure a lot of stock market gurus will tell you about average returns and etc. but you have to look at the years they quote as you pick different years you get much different results, nothing is a sure thing but if SS was in a lock box and you save the max you can under the various accounts available and have a little luck you might be able to make it.

I am glad I will have a military retirement. I believe one way to help the SS problem is to raise the age of when you get it. People are living longer now.

Interesting thread. I'm 24 and will be graduating from the University soon. Everyone keeps telling me as soon as I get a "real" job to start investing in 401ks and such.

quote:

I am glad I will have a military retirement.

Raven,

This is one area I am pleased to have my taxes go for. The majority of folks in our military are grossly underpaid. (Senior officers don't do so bad though!) And if they spend 20+ years in the service, they give up a great deal. A military pension is the least we can do for these great folks.

Thanks for your service!

Jim Cavanaugh

quote:

Originally posted by saulphx:
I have no specific plans to retire by 65, although I may want to when it gets closer. My dad is about to turn 81 and still goes to work 6-8 hours everyday. I'd like to have more time off to travel and do other stuff, but I think I'd get bored if I had too much freedom.

Saul,

Didn't you know that attorneys never retire.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Cavanaugh:

quote:

I am glad I will have a military retirement.

Raven,

This is one area I am pleased to have my taxes go for. The majority of folks in our military are grossly underpaid. (Senior officers don't do so bad though!) And if they spend 20+ years in the service, they give up a great deal. A military pension is the least we can do for these great folks.

Thanks for your service!

Jim Cavanaugh

Thanks my friend!!

Don't forget, Social Insecurity was not set up to be what you live off of! Do you really want to be dependent on your government to live? Some poor young guy working his butt off is paying for my retirement? Something is not right with that.

quote:

Originally posted by cigarlad:
I do not think that investing part of SS into the market is a good idea because you are then risking your future which is why SS was invented. Don't forget that the market is a ponzi scheme similar to SS if more people aren't buying then those that are selling your down. I am sure a lot of stock market gurus will tell you about average returns and etc. but you have to look at the years they quote as you pick different years you get much different results, nothing is a sure thing but if SS was in a lock box and you save the max you can under the various accounts available and have a little luck you might be able to make it.

Are you really Al Gore? Lock Box and all. I'd say an average annual return of 8-12% over last 75 years or so sure beats 1% return from SS. Anybody with more than 5 years of so to retire would do much better in equities.

Several of you are correct. The answer is $0 are in the trust fund.

So, for all of the liberals that want President Bush to keep his hands off of their money must remember, there isn't any money.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_Trust_Fund

Projections are that current receipts will continue to exceed expenditures until 2018 or 2019

The week after his State of the Union speech, Bush pointed to these facts in language that downplayed the importance of the Trust Fund:

Some in our country think that Social Security is a trust fund -- in other words, there's a pile of money being accumulated. That's just simply not true. The money -- payroll taxes going into the Social Security are spent. They're spent on benefits and they're spent on government programs. There is no trust. The week after his State of the Union speech, Bush pointed to these facts in language that downplayed the importance of the Trust Fund:

geez with all this talk about ss i am reminded of that line from the song my generation i hope i die before i get old i am glad i started to invest in an ira and a 457 from my job and of course mutual funds god only knows what will happen to ss by the time i reach the age to collect