One million dollars.
That’s the often-quoted amount they say you should have to retire and live well. They also say, however, that $1 million isn’t going to be enough. Nope, you need to be a multi-millionaire to retire. You better own your home free and clear and have a million in your retirement account and thousands coming in from your pension. Oh, you better be healthy, too.
Right?
Wrong.
Not everyone has a pension (unless you’re a government worker).
Not everyone owns their home outright.
Not everyone has a million bucks in a retirement account.
Not everyone is healthy.
Many struggle to get by today, and will struggle to get more even more in their golden years.
Don’t count on family to take you in. That only works for so long before family members tire of each other.
Don’t count on charities to take care of you, as money for them is tight, as well.
Many rely on Social Security today and will rely on it in the future. It is their only source of revenue.
That’s what we join Sen. Mazie Hirono in applauding the Social Security Administration’s announcement that beneficiaries will receive a 2.8 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for 2019, the highest increase since 2012.
That may not sound like a lot, but for those getting by on Social Security, every dollar, literally, counts.
“Social Security is an earned benefit that provides a critical source of income for millions of individuals and families around the country, including thousands in Hawaii,” Hirono said. “The 2019 COLA increase is welcome news for Hawaii seniors and other beneficiaries who worked hard, but more must be done to ensure fair and regular benefit increases to keep pace with rising living expenses. That is why I will continue working to advance legislation that protects and expands Social Security and will keep up the fight against efforts to cut benefits.”
The increase, while much appreciated, isn’t enough to keep up with the rising cost of living for seniors. It will likely disappear into other expenses, most notably, healthcare.
“We strongly urge Congress to tie future Social Security COLAs to the CPI-E, which takes into account the things seniors must purchase, especially prescription drugs, health care and housing,” Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans said.
Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, had this to say: “That’s why we are fighting alongside Senator Hirono and other champions in Congress to expand Social Security, including enacting a more accurate formula for calculating COLAs that reflects the real costs seniors and Americans with disabilities face.”
While we certainly encourage people to plan for their financial future and make sacrifices now so they can live well, later, we also hope that our government leaders recognize that not everyone is independently wealthy. They will need their Social Security, they paid for it, they deserve, and they should be able to count on it rising with the cost of living.
All the more reason why Social Security funds should be invested in the markets and not borrowed by the federal government. The federal government can’t even balance its own check book and we want them to continue this fraud on the taxpayer? All the social Security system has in its account are government IOUs that the government cannot repay. And Hirono wants more of the same? That’s socialist thinking for you. Screw up what could have been a good plan and keep on doing the same thing…only more!
Manawai:
“government IOUs”, that is what a Treasury Bond is. Do you not understand that those dollars in your checking account are nothing but “government IOUs”? It is a fiat currency meaning there’s nothing to back it up other than the “full faith and credit of the United States of America”.
There was an old song that went, “Money makes the world go around”. Guess what happens when no one wants your money.
It is really difficult to understand how anyone who lived through the 2008 “Great Recession” can still (apparently believing it) advocate for turning over our investments to “Wall Street”. It should be clear to even the most “casual observer” that the USA is on the verge of a new money panic that could even happen before the election. (I thought it was going to happen in 2016 so what do I know, only that there is a huge bubble and there is another “Great Recession” coming. When it gets here is a different question.)
Anyway, I’m 99% out of stocks. Good thing after today’s DOW dropped over 600 points.
As for the claim that one needs a million dollars to retire and must own their home free and clear to have a restful retirement, I’m afraid that is very, very true. The fact that you don’t have it doesn’t change the requirement. It just provides a hint about your retirement will be like.