Social Security Benefits ... a critical look at what's available ... and what may not be available for future generations ... from a Gerontological Social Work perspective.
Pic: Public Domain
As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with an academic concentration in Gerontology (the study of aging) who in 2024 will achieve the age of 65 - MediCARE eligibility – and who is researching as to when may be the optimal time for me to begin receiving Social Security combined with other work history secured income, I and all of us need to prioritize an unselfish appraisal for not only how to project meeting our anticipated future needs but also those of our succeeding generations.
I will never forget back in 1978 when I was a sophomore at Loyola University of New Orleans in the Undergraduate Social Work Consortium with Dominican College and Xavier University that I started to explore working with the aged, so I enrolled in an Intro to Gerontology class at Xavier. John Fulwiler, PhD, was my professor.
It was fascinating to learn in that class from the Schwartz & Peterson Intro to Gerontology text we used re: the concept of a dependency ratio:
“Demographers note that 'this is arrived at arithmetically by dividing the 'dependent' (retired) population by the number of active wage earners (conventionally defined as the age group eighteen to sixty-four.'”
The authors depicted this well by juxtaposing a regular and upside down triangle noted above:
Projections back in 1978 for how this dependency ratio would drastically affect the solvency of retirement income like Social Security have certainly been accelerated by other factors like lower fertility rates and increases since then in the lifespans for both men and women.
While there are many aging advocacy groups, like AARP, which certainly stive to get the most benefits for the senior population per legislation and otherwise, we need to think more generationally and holistically to be inclusive of preparing for the needs of our children, grandchildren and all succeeding generations.
Most people don't realize that while we all have put in to the system and most have benefited for its availability when retired or used for a disability situation, the average financial benefit one may obtain from Social Security, based upon actuarial data, is very likely much higher compared to what one may have actually put in – even if interest accounting is figured in.
Also, I recently attended an informative Social Security Update presentation by Financial Advisor, Jeffrey Dunbar, Merrill Lynch, which heightened my awareness to the looming “hot potato” of Social “In-Security's” insolvency, which no one or political party wants to touch or address.
All of us want our children and grandchildren to have a future of hope and promise, so while we have to advocate for our own benefits and needs, let's not be selfish and sacrifice for them too.
So my modest proposal is to challenge our elected Representatives like Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, - who noted this recently - in crafting truly far reaching legislation that benefits all generations.
As Ken Stickney, Advocate Staff Writer noted in The Advocate on 9/3/2023:
“Cassidy expressed concerns that those who are relying on Social Security for support in their retirement years may be shortchanged unless federal government leaders fix things. He said if the government does nothing, those who receive Social Security checks will be guaranteed a cut of 24% in nine years. He said it's imperative that the issue is resolved quickly.
He said there's a bipartisan move afoot - 14 senators are championing it - to separately invest $1.5 trillion in 'stocks, real estate and the American economy' to generate additional money to bolster the Social Security program.
'We need to create a separate fund (for Social Security) and let the profits pay for it,' he said. 'Invest in our U.S. Economy.'
I stand ready to advocate for these and or other modified efforts, both personally and professionally, as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to help address sharing Social Security with all generations.
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https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana/news/education/cassidy-touts-infrastructure-action-social-security-fix/article_dc5a6e34-4843-11ee-a7f9-17bc64babadf.html
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Very few live in a place where they can survive on mere Social Security. The only way to ensure well-being in old age is to save and invest early. Frugality tends to work in this regard. We all want our children to keep up with their peers, but we often spoil them with unnecessary, throwaway values. I never bought candy when I earned as a child, but put it in my savings account for college. Borrowed only twice during my college years and finished my doctorate with no debt and only enough stuff to put in my used, much older, car to stay mobile, job wise.
George Bush suggested that the Social Security fund be invested in the stock market and so are you with this new initiative. We all need to invest in the stock market. My twin brother recently suggested instead of giving a youngster a toy, a car, jewelry or other thing, to give them stock so they can begin to understand the power of ownership in the American economy.
I am at the point where I need total care nearly 24/7. The last time I calculated it, it costs me around $60,000 a year to pay for attendant caregivers in my home. If I were to go into assisted living, it would cost me around $5000 per month or $60,000 for the loss of my individual freedom and poorer care, leading to an earlier death.
Fortunately, about $34,000 of that amount is covered by the state for me. But would not apply if I chose assisted living. If I needed a nursing home, it would cost much more and by quality of life would decrease immensely. I'm in good health and my pharmaceutical needs, along with very good insurance for drugs, is minimal. For many elderly people of my age, their need for drugs is eating them alive.
Social Security is not security for the elderly. At best, it's a nice supplementary check to get. The only way to live on it alone is to stay healthy, live very frugally, and enjoy the simple life rather than spending what active time one has left on expensive bucket lists. When one can achieve Guinness world records in one's backyard, why spend money doing it.
Ron