If you love what you do, you have never worked a day in your life

[dvarapala]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

It was Trump that suggested we need to look at SS.

He's right. It's untenable and merely creates another way our debt can be bought by foreigners. The ONLY real way to save SS is to increase intake, or decrease output.

You'll never see a reduction in benefits as long as Boomers have a vote.

With a decline in the working population look for the employers to be soaked for the needed increase. Right now they pay half and the employee pays half; look for that proportion to shift as the trust fund runs dry.

[AUTOHOLIC]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

You'll never see a reduction in benefits as long as Boomers have a vote.

With a decline in the working population look for the employers to be soaked for the needed increase. Right now they pay half and the employee pays half; look for that proportion to shift as the trust fund runs dry.

I tell young people that say they think SS will be broke before they ever get a chance to draw it “young Americans need to tell our government to just pay back with compound interest all of the SS surplus they stole and put into the general fund and SS will continue to sustain itself.”

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

You'll never see a reduction in benefits as long as Boomers have a vote.

With a decline in the working population look for the employers to be soaked for the needed increase. Right now they pay half and the employee pays half; look for that proportion to shift as the trust fund runs dry.

There hasn't been any actual money in the so-called trust fund for decades. It's just full of IOUs -- the politicians drained the SS fund. Benefits are paid out of the general fund.

Gov. takes in X amount of dollars and it spends X amount of dollars, which is always more than it takes in -- all the while being 34 trillion in debt.

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by dvarapala

You'll never see a reduction in benefits as long as Boomers have a vote.

With a decline in the working population look for the employers to be soaked for the needed increase. Right now they pay half and the employee pays half; look for that proportion to shift as the trust fund runs dry.

The age of retirement will continue to rise until the fund balances on paper. Min 65 and FRA at 69 is likely next. They could even freeze the age of no more benefits accrued at 70. They can do all this without reducing existing benefits, by making all this only to apply to those.who are not 60 or older today.

[slewfoot]

Been retired 2 years now.

I keep busy and or volunteer work. This week, I rented a cage trap to catch the local ferrel cat crapping in my garden area an killing fish in a neighbors yard pond on the next street.

Stupid cat has already cost me $200 in equipment, time & effort.

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

The age of retirement will continue to rise until the fund balances on paper. Min 65 and FRA at 69 is likely next. They could even freeze the age of no more benefits accrued at 70. They can do all this without reducing existing benefits, by making all this only to apply to those.who are not 60 or older today.

How about means-testing it?

My buddy's (late) father-in-law was instrumental in globally expanding a hotel chain, and was worth in the billions.

When he got SS checks he didn't need or want them, and wanted to send them back and opt out of SS.

There was no mechanism for doing so.

[Bruze]

How did this thread get so far away from the subject in the title?

[DAB]

Hasn't Ben read that the priests in the Old Testament had to retire from their work at age 50?

[slewfoot]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

The age of retirement will continue to rise until the fund balances on paper. Min 65 and FRA at 69 is likely next. They could even freeze the age of no more benefits accrued at 70. They can do all this without reducing existing benefits, by making all this only to apply to those.who are not 60 or older today.

I don't know about you but I know many who decide to get on SS as soon as they hit 62. Not a good move. That alone screws them in the long run and saves the govt a sht load of money.

I went on it last year and turn 68 soon. My wife is going for it all when she turns 70 next year. I would think just a minor change to 63 would yield good results without pissing off everyone too much

[Aerovette]

I like what I do very much...that doesn't mean I want to do it forever.

[ToolMaker]

I was "retired" for 26 months due to covid.
I couldn't wait to get back to a job!

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

I don't know about you but I know many who decide to get on SS as soon as they hit 62. Not a good move. That alone screws them in the long run and saves the govt a sht load of money.

I went on it last year and turn 68 soon. My wife is going for it all when she turns 70 next year. I would think just a minor change to 63 would yield good results without pissing off everyone too much

The SSA figures, on average, that everyone will get about the same amount of money throughout their lives.

Take it at 62, get a smaller check but for more years.

Take it at FRA, get a bigger check but for fewer years.

And aside from that, NO PART OF GOVERNMENT WANTS TO "SAVE MONEY." From the top down, everyone that works for a bureaucracy wants to spend as much as possible to protect and hopefully expand their fiefdoms.

[Torqaholic]

Never disliked work. Having to put up with all the idiots who don't work and won't leave a person alone to do their job is a whole other situation. Y'all can have that garbage.

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by slewfoot

I don't know about you but I know many who decide to get on SS as soon as they hit 62. Not a good move. That alone screws them in the long run and saves the govt a sht load of money.

I went on it last year and turn 68 soon. My wife is going for it all when she turns 70 next year. I would think just a minor change to 63 would yield good results without pissing off everyone too much

I have said I do not trust the .gov to not jam me. Give me the money at 62. Been paying our entertainment budget for the year.

[DAB]

for SS, most people break even around 80-82.

i'm fortunate that i could start taking widower's benefits at 60, based on Linda's record, and later, likely at 70, i can claim my own, higher benefits.

[BayouCountry]

Worked until I was 25. After that, I was fortunate enough to get into a field I enjoyed; and it paid rather well after I mastered a few skills. The only reason I retired early from my IT career was to be close to my family who were deeply rooted in Louisiana (daughter met my SIL in the army). I haven’t looked back after relocating from beautiful Lake Tahoe to rural Louisiana. I’m now enjoying my new life with my grandkids and new friends.

I remember working about an hour after I clocked out to learn how to print graphs on the plotter. Hell, it was like playing with a toy! I knew right then what I wanted to do. Playing with computers and programming was a dream come true. Who would pay someone that much to play with toys?

The advice I give younger people is find a job you like and the money comes later. It’s a shame my daughter and her husband don’t enjoy their jobs like I did, but it’s hard for them to quit and maybe the high life makes up for it. I’m just a simple man who enjoys friends and family.

Well, I could go on and on, but it’s time for another bourbon as I enjoy retirement on the river. Bourbon trail adventure coming up next. Never a dull moment when you’re with family and friends.

Should you retire? Maybe, maybe not.

[BayouCountry]

Originally Posted by Bruze

The SSA figures, on average, that everyone will get about the same amount of money throughout their lives.

Take it at 62, get a smaller check but for more years.

Take it at FRA, get a bigger check but for fewer years.

And aside from that, NO PART OF GOVERNMENT WANTS TO "SAVE MONEY." From the top down, everyone that works for a bureaucracy wants to spend as much as possible to protect and hopefully expand their fiefdoms.

Yep. It would have taken me 7 years to break even had I waited to take SS. Do the math. I didn’t need it anyway, but it didn’t make sense to wait on the crumbs the government stole from me throughout my lifetime.

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by BayouCountry

Worked until I was 25. After that, I was fortunate enough to get into a field I enjoyed; and it paid rather well after I mastered a few skills. The only reason I retired early from my IT career was to be close to my family who were deeply rooted in Louisiana (daughter met my SIL in the army). I haven’t looked back after relocating from beautiful Lake Tahoe to rural Louisiana. I’m now enjoying my new life with my grandkids and new friends.

I remember working about an hour after I clocked out to learn how to print graphs on the plotter. Hell, it was like playing with a toy! I knew right then what I wanted to do. Playing with computers and programming was a dream come true. Who would pay someone that much to play with toys?

The advice I give younger people is find a job you like and the money comes later. It’s a shame my daughter and her husband don’t enjoy their jobs like I did, but it’s hard for them to quit and maybe the high life makes up for it. I’m just a simple man who enjoys friends and family.

Well, I could go on and on, but it’s time for another bourbon as I enjoy retirement on the river. Bourbon trail adventure coming up next. Never a dull moment when you’re with family and friends.

Should you retire? Maybe, maybe not.

Ha, a plotter. I haven't heard that term in years. It kinda came and went like video tapes did.

I bought a used one sometime in the mid-90s. I was doing most of my (injection mold) designing then on a cheap CAD program, trying to progress past the drafting board. I got it mostly figured out on CAD, but I always had trouble getting the plotter to work correctly. For me, there was no substitute for size D or E blueprints.

All of that stuff was very difficult to learn when there is nobody else around to ask questions.

By the early 2000's I was working directly with emailed CAD files from customers so I took the plotter to the dumps. Around 2006 I upgraded my CAM program to solids which made everything (including designing) easier. No more need for blueprints