For Those Of You Living On Social Security Alone

[MikeB]

Well that philosphy is definitely better but does not always work either. Banks fail, home values collapse, stocks fall, homes with money under the mattress and individuals with it in their pocket get robbed, Corporations providing pension plans find themselves failing or underfunded. There is no way to provide total security. Best choice is to have all or as many sources as possible -- diversify. Fear is what prevents many from retiring. There are many ways to salvage social security each with its on pain to groups. ---- . ... save some of the cake too ... you might need it.

Excellent points, especially what I bolded. That gave me pause to think about my own situation; specifically, when is enough, enough and at what cost? No one knows for sure, all you can do is weigh all the factors and try to make the best decision using your own best judgement. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.SS will have to be changed, people on average are living longer now then when it was adopted in 1935; there has to be changes but I don't think it will affect anyone currently 55 or older. You cannot overestimate the power and political clout of AARP, they are a considerable force and will fight any change to SS that affects their membership. As Tip O'Neil said, "it's the third rail of American politics".

[Art2ro]

I also forgot to mention in my previous post, the existing Civil Service retirement system is no longer the way it is today compared to when I was working. Government employees today still don't pay into the SS system, but they are now required to set aside 15% of their monthly salary for their retirement pension plan at age 55. Many have realized though since the recession, that they couldn't afford to retire at age 55 with their existing retirement plan so they opted out of retiring and instead decided to keep on working until the age of 65 or older as long as they are physically able to do so, because by then they should have a pretty sizable pension to retire on when they reach 65 and plus the fact that Social Security does not come into play since they never contributed into it in the first place!