Senior citizens just cannot win....

**dancemommy** · 10-20-2011, 10:52 AM

Social Security is scary. I agree- it is challenging to be a senior and at a point where you can no longer earn an income. However, people do so little to prepare. The good thing about the generation that is aging is that they lived a day of pensions, etc. Most people don't have those anymore and have to prepare on their own for retirement- but do they? I know that in our own household we are not doing NEARLY enough to prepare for retirement. I do feel bad for the elderly, but honestly feel worse for my generation and my children's generation that somehow is going to have to support that HUGE generation of baby boomers in an economy that is far worse than the baby boomers had at the height of their income earning potential.

**brennasmom** · 10-20-2011, 11:01 AM

This got me thinking about my Grandma.... she is 95 years old. She has been retired for 30 years. She has outlived her money. I'm sure she never thought she would live to be 95. She sold her house many years ago and lives in an apartment (yes, she does live alone!). I'm sure when she retired she thought she had plenty of money for the rest of her days....

**nuisance26** · 10-21-2011, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by McD

I will say that this door swings both ways.

~Being in a generation that never had any hope of collecting SS we've paid into, I feel like "Too bad" has been said to us for a long time as well.
We don't get smugness with our "Too bad" though, just a guilt trip for hating the elderly.

And no, I'm not directing that comment to anything anyone said here on this thread, just venting. ~

**Booklover** · 10-21-2011, 01:10 PM

I am in your generation, too.

**Booklover** · 10-21-2011, 01:32 PM

Sigh-If one has been told for a long time, then they will be prepared. Now, I will not be visiting this thread again.

**Nishu** · 10-22-2011, 11:17 AM

I guess it seems obvious to us that SS isn't that great, but did they know that 20, 30, 40 years ago? These are people that paid into the system for decades with the understanding that it would be available to them when they retired. If their money has been taken from them under this pretext for this long, to tell them "sucks to be you, you should have prepared better" is, imo, theft by way of breech of contract.

They expected the government to take care of them because this is specifically what that program was for. This isn't a welfare program.

**McD** · 10-22-2011, 11:31 AM

But aren't we continuing the same cycle? I've been forced to pay into social security for over a decade and there is slim to no chance that I will ever even get my original contribution back. At some point a breech of contract is going to happen unless something changes.

**LuvMyHubby** · 10-22-2011, 12:47 PM

To an extent I do agree that Social Security has become a breech of contract for anyone who has paid in. The thing is that the younger generations have been forwared and have had time to make at least modest adjustments to better help in retirement. Those who are in their late 70's and up had no such time, they were basically told that it was there and it would be fine and it is harder more so for women of that age who didn't work outside the home and therefore get very little on their own and if they are lucky some kind of widow's benefit. So, to that extent, heck yeah I feel badly for that generation and I am sure that if they could go back and do something differently the majority of them would.

**pollypurebred39** · 10-22-2011, 02:23 PM

My oldest is now facing the reality that he must prepare for his retirement while barely making above minimum wage. He has a little prepared at this point, but is working on it as best he can.

It's one of the reasons that unless something changes drastically, both he and his brother and their families will continue to live with us. We have future plans to separate our home into apartments so each family can have their own home and privacy.

I'm not sure what else can be done to help them prepare for retiring in light of our new pay scale, lack of pensions, etc. in this country. It really is tough being a teenager, young 20 something in this country. Your parents life almost definitely will not be your reality.

We ourselves have no expectation of ever being able to truly retire. We've lost just about everything we had prepared for our "golden" years when the economy tanked. Too old (not enough years) to rebuild enough wealth to sustain us in retirement. We haven't even recovered financially at this point to even think of much more than keeping our heads above water.

It is what it is I guess *sigh* We'll just keep marching forward and do the best we can for us and our children's futures. We'll continue to teach frugal skills, help them with planning for their futures, and hopefully (lots of prayer on this one) be able to provide an enough of an education that they can at least earn enough not to fall below the poverty line.

**piney** · 10-22-2011, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by Nishu

I guess it seems obvious to us that SS isn't that great, but did they know that 20, 30, 40 years ago? These are people that paid into the system for decades with the understanding that it would be available to them when they retired. If their money has been taken from them under this pretext for this long, to tell them "sucks to be you, you should have prepared better" is, imo, theft by way of breech of contract.

They expected the government to take care of them because this is ]specifically what that program was for. This isn't a welfare program.]

Your right this is not a welfare program i worked and raised 6 children and long after they were grown i worked and lots of younger generation act like we should not live to collect ss i wonder how lots of younger people will think about it when they get old enough to draw ss and maby run out of money stop and think some people can be rich one day and everthing gone the next due to circustomance beyound your control.God givith and God can take it away.

**Nishu** · 10-23-2011, 07:06 PM

Originally Posted by McD

But aren't we continuing the same cycle? I've been forced to pay into social security for over a decade and there is slim to no chance that I will ever even get my original contribution back. At some point a breech of contract is going to happen unless something changes.

At one point there will be, but when that happens I think we need to realize that these people are basically victims of a scam that has been perpetuated by the US government, not freeloaders who aim to use the system as an excuse not to prepare for the future. I'll probably be slightly less tenderhearted toward the people of our generation who have had plenty of warning, but still, these people are losing money today that they could be putting toward retirement. I'm not really taking issue with the cuts to social security so much as I'm taking issue with the lack of empathy.

Btw, if anyone is interested, as part of Ron Paul's economic plan, he wants to allow young workers to opt out of paying social security. It's already kind of an option for other people. (Sort of.) My FIL is a postal worker and not eligible for social security because he has the postal system's retirement (which is also in danger.)

Ron Paul Would Take a Salary of $39,336 if Elected President | The State Column

**rosey7415** · 10-23-2011, 07:37 PM

i am a senior citizen and now depend on our ss check. i think that social security is sacred. we were told as we put it in that we would get it out. it is owed us now. like someone else said it isn't a welfare or charity. i fear for the younger generations as well. it is a flawed system for sure, but we should repair it for all the future generations as well. they are our children and grandchildren.

**forHISglory** · 10-23-2011, 09:04 PM

This is a complex problem; complex meaning it has many aspects. SS was never intended to be the sole retirement source for seniors, but many interpreted it this way. I find it sad that they were allowed to continue their faulty thinking.

Even those who understood that SS was not the sole source of retirement funds had the rug pulled out from under them when companies started to not offer pension plans. Many seniors believed that the pension would be there for them as a reward for all their faithful work and loyalty to the company. And that wasn't always true.

The 3 legs of the retirement stool are personal savings, Social Security, and pension. So what happens when SS is much less than expected, the pension evaporates, and there was never a chance to really save (due to inflation, etc)? The stool crashes....

My parents tried to be wise with their money. They are mid-80s and existing on a small amount of SS, some income from the farm, and a small pension. Like Madhen, they keep putting off things that they need because costs keep rising. They were always frugal, with the hope of relaxing some in their golden years, but it's not to be.

Hubby and I tried to follow their example. We have the pension, some savings, and my SS. Hubby is given a token of SS because the government says that it is double dipping if he takes both a pension AND SS. However, he paid into each system. But he's only allowed to withdraw from pension, and a few dollars from SS. Yet we are finding ourselves facing some huge medical bills that insurance won't cover, and it is rapidly eating away our money.

Every generation will have the slackers, the greedy, the ones who will never grow up, the ones who live for the moment. But the others: those who planned ahead, lived frugally, sacrificed.... it's not fair to those hardworking folks to be in the pitiful condition they now find themselves in.

Another troubling aspect of this complex problem is that funds are taken from SS to fund so many other things than retirement. That's a reneging of the original promise.

Many more aspects here, but too many to explore tonight. Keep the conversation going!