Are you receiving Social Security? Are you old enough to retire? Have you put enough money into your Social Security? Do you worry if you will have enough to live on when you retire?

The future of Social Security is always at stake. And it has been for as long as I can remembered.

Americans may not see eye-to-eye on many things, but fully 96% of us agree on the importance of Social Security. It has been around for now around 86 years and have been the bedrock of our retirement finances. Which begs the question: why isn’t it more secure financially?

I have been working most of my life since I was 13 years old. I didn’t start putting money into Social Security until I was 14 years old and gave up my study hall in school to worked the school cafeteria. I’m now 59 years old and getting closer to retirement; which I’m looking forward to for more than one reasons.

It used to be that a person was able to retire at the age of 65; but that’s not the case anymore. Some people can take early retirement at the age of 62; but I cannot afford to do so on Social Security alone. The best time for me to retire is 67 years old, when I get the full amount; but I’m looking at retiring at the age of 66. I would get close to the full amount.

It seems that those who retire, some doesn’t live very long past retirement. My family in particular.

How much is enough to live on? Now this is a very good question to asked yourself when planning on retirement. When you add the cost of everything from healthcare to food and lodging.

You cannot depend on Social Security alone when you retire. A person also needs a good retirement plan and even enough put away in an investment as well. It’s no wonder, years ago, people had a big family. By having a big family, you’re hoping that your kids would be able to take care of you in your old age. Family was closer back then too compared to today.

For decades, financial advisers have used the metaphor of a “three-legged stool” to describe America’s retirement system: that the equation for late-life security is having a healthy pension from work, ample personal savings and a monthly Social Security payment.

Pensions that guarantee income for life are a dying breed in America, and too few Americans have accumulated a nest egg that can provide substantial monthly income across the full expanse of their retirement years. Less than 7% of retirees today have steady income from all three “legs of the stool.”

A person cannot survive on Social Security alone to live on once you retire. You don’t get much to live on. For those who just depends on Social Security can’t really afford to retire; and so they keep plugging on working until they drop. That’s why a person also needs a good retirement plan and some kind of investments as well. They need a good pension to be able to retire on.

For those who tend to distrust the government seem to have less faith that Social Security will be there for them in its current form.

Social Security is one of the most successful anti-poverty programs this country has ever created. Without Social Security benefits, 21.7 million more Americans would be below the poverty line. There are more people below the poverty line today and homelessness in America than any other country. And the United States is supposed to be the riches country in the world.

There are 6 things to know about Social Security. Congress can’t raid the Social Security trust funds. The trust reserves for retirees grew to $2.8 trillion by the end of 2020. The annual benefit hikes don’t always match inflation. You can collect benefits and keep working. Your benefits can be taxed. This is where many thinks that the government should not tax our Social Security. We paid enough in taxes through the years we had worked. The Democrats would say to taxed the rich. How about those who refused to go to work just get a job and pay their full share of taxes instead. Either stop depending on the government and start making their own money. Spousal benefits could mean a bigger payment. If your spouse make more money in Social Security than you do and they passed away before you, you can collect off their Social Security instead of your own. You can change your mind about when you start Social Security.

If the crisis in Social Security continue, the program would not have enough money to fully pay its promised benefits and could be ended in just over a decade. It’s all because of all the wasteful spending by our government.

President Donald Trump set up an efficiency department(Doge) to be head up by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswarmy to carry out slash and burn cuts plan. This department will dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies. I believe that President Reagan and our forefathers would approve of this. Yet, there are those in Washington DC who will not approve of it because they will be afraid that this will cut into their wasteful spending.

A hardworking boomer generation helped the Social Security OASDI trust funds grow to a peak of over $2.9 trillion. But with boomers retiring and fewer workers feeding into the system, the funds are projected to be depleted in 2034.

Many financial professionals believe that if you can afford it and your health let you, you should wait until you’re 70 years old to retire.

Here are some ideas to bring money into the system: Adjust the cap, increase the payroll tax rates, broaden the base, broaden the definition of income, introduce more progressivity, cut benefits for new recipients, reduce the cost of living adjustment, change benefit calculations, and up the retirement age.

How about we stop giving Social Security payment to the illegal immigrants, the younger generations get off their lazy ass and get a job instead of playing on their phone and Social Media. You hear them cry if they have to work 8 hours or more. Stop getting money for nothing!! Stop asking for free handout if you are not willing to actually work for it. For those who are working but still struggling, then you are entitled to the help if needed.

Social Security was set up to help hard working folks to be able to afford to retire when the time come. Since we cannot depend on Social Security to be there when we’re ready to retire, we have to look for other investments. Some good jobs offer some form of retirement such as 401 k. While others look at investments as well. I’m so glad that I have a retirement plan through my job. I’m also glad for the advice I received after I came into an inheritance, to put some money into retirement. If I didn’t have those 2 also, who knows if I would be able to retire at all. I’m grateful that I found a good investment company through my bank.

With the high cost of healthcare, it could deplete our retirement very easily. If you just have Social Security and Medicare, you’re screwed. If you own anything or have certain investment, and need to go into a nursing home in your old age, they could take it all away very easily. Before my mother passed away, us kids advice her to divorce dad, that way the farm and our inheritance would be safe from being taken away from the nursing home care and our corrupt government.

If you can look for other means of retirement because you cannot depend on Social Security alone. Not only do I have a retirement plan and investment, I also have this blog that I write weekly. I sure hope that it will goes viral by the time I reach retirement age. My mother never really retired even though she was getting Social Security, she worked up to the point she had a stroke. My step-dad got less money from his Social Security; but at least we had the farm and he was a Veteran. There are those who never work and they got plenty. I’m not talking about the rich here as much as those who choose to live off us taxpayers.