SSI Trust fund

[jfssms]

Is the fund in good order? we pay in what 6.2% or so on every earned dollar with a employer match, is it funded?

What about Medicare? there is a dollar for dollar match also, is it funded? Medicaid seems to work alright.

These are all Federal Programs.

 

[MLR]

Its fully funded if you take IOU's.

Michael

 

[Dale00]

Sorry - Your social security taxes have already been spent on other "worthy causes" like Solyndra executive bonuses and Nancy Pelosi's jet.

What's that? The poor have no bread to eat? Let them pay more taxes then.

 

[Hobbes]

Here you go:

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/TR/2011/tr2011.pdf


Short answer is, the funds consist of U.S. Government ten year bonds and continue to bring in more payroll contributions which are then also invested in government treasuries.
At some point, payroll contributions won't be enough to cover outgoing expenditures and they are supposed to start cashing in those U.S. Government bonds to pay benefits.

But the politicians don't want to give us our money back when those treasuries need to be redeemed because it's inconvenient to find the money to redeem those bonds.
They would rather bamboozle you into thinking that you don't deserve the benefits and you should do the patriotic thing and let them cut your benefits.

It's only stealing if you allow them to get away with it.

 

[Hobbes]

At the end of 2010, about 54 million people were receiving benefits:
37 million retired workers and dependents of retired workers, 6 million survivorsof deceased workers, and 10 million disabled workers and dependents of disabled workers. During the year, an estimated 157 million people had earnings covered by Social Security and paid payroll taxes.

Total expenditures in 2010 were $713 billion. Total income was $781 billion ($664 billion in non-interest income and $117 billion in interest earnings), and assets held in special issue U.S. Treasury securities grew to $2.6 trillion.

Last year, 2011, slightly more was paid out than paid in but the fund still grew because of earned interest on the funds holdings.

 

[cjjtulsa]

So by Hobbes figures, a good 20% of funds in a "retirement" program are being paid to people who aren't retired - many of them are likely my age (mid-40s) with career-ending hangnails. The system is right at the tipping point of being insolvent, just as the tidal wave of Baby Boomers are hitting retirement and Social Security drawing age. And people somehow remain optimistic that this will still be viable in 20 years?

 

[Dale00]

There is no SSI Trust fund, just IOU's as MLR pointed out. Ask the Greeks how their pyramid scam worked out.

 

[Hobbes]

There is no SSI Trust fund, just IOU's as MLR pointed out. Ask the Greeks how their pyramid scam worked out.

There is a SS trust fund.
It holds 2.6T in U.S. Treasuries. You can call those IOUs if you want but it's not the same thing.

 

[Dave70968]

There is a SS trust fund.
It holds 2.6T in U.S. Treasuries. You can call those IOUs if you want but it's not the same thing.

Fed.gov is borrowing somewhere north of a trillion dollars a year to maintain its spending. Where, exactly, do you expect it to come up with $2.6T to pay its debt to Social Security?

The money's gone. We done spent it on a drug war, a couple of wars in the sandbox, free cell phones for people who don't want to work, and a bunch of other stuff. Were I you, I'd be building my own retirement fund; one I controlled myself.

 

[cjjtulsa]

Wars in the sandbox?!? Aren't we still paying on the Vietnam conflict, or maybe even Korea? Our great grandkids may get to pay on today's foolishness - if we last that long.