[quote=AN][quote=bearishgurl]What would members of Gen X/Y think if they contribute all their lives to SS and then find out at the 11th hr (age 65) that their benefits will be drastically reduced or eliminated?
Boomers, in general, worked hard all their lives in much lesser circumstances than younger workers of today and many are still working. They *deserve* to retire.[/quote]I’m part of the Gen X/Y you’re referring to and I’m expecting my benefits will be drastically reduced or eliminated. That’s why I’m not counting on them in my planning. FYI, those WWII and Greatest generation paid into the system all their lives as well and they die a lot earlier, which mean they take out less. So your entire argument sounds like the boomer will be a biggest drainer yet due to their longevity and the medical advancements.[/quote]
AN, what those older gens paid into the “system” was minuscule compared to what boomers paid into the system. And the vast majority of women in those gens did not qualify for SS in their own right. All along, these previous gens have been getting SS COLA’s almost every year the last 40 years. Due to their ultralow payroll deductions during their working years, I figure it took them =<5 years of "retirement" at age 62 or 65 to use up their contributions ... yes, even collecting a ~$500 mo benefit. And I would estimate that 45% of them made no SS contributions at all in their lifetimes!
In recent decades, these older gens haven't "died a lot earlier." They lived and live with incapacity, both physical and mental, which costs everyone.
I just don't see boomers living with the length and degree of incapacity that their forebears did and are, due to all the reasons I noted above and more, including education about causes of bone loss, Alzheimers, effects of smoking, etc.
For instance, the older gens were ignorant of the consequences of smoking when they started at a young age and continued to smoke throughout their working lives. Now we are all paying for their oxygen and medical bills due to chronic COPD/emphysema (which is a very slow, agonizing death).
