Sorry You Can't Retire - The End of Retirement

Social Security Likely To Go Into Red Next Year

Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next two years, the first time that's happened since the 1980s.

The deficits — $10 billion in 2010 and $9 billion in 2011 — won't affect payments to retirees because Social Security has accumulated surpluses from previous years totaling $2.5 trillion. But they will add to the overall federal deficit.

Applications for retirement benefits are 23 percent higher than last year, while disability claims have risen by about 20 percent. Social Security officials had expected applications to increase from the growing number of baby boomers reaching retirement, but they didn't expect the increase to be so large.

What happened? The recession hit and many older workers suddenly found themselves laid off with no place to turn but Social Security.

"A lot of people who in better times would have continued working are opting to retire," said Alan J. Auerbach, an economics and law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "If they were younger, we would call them unemployed."

Job losses are forcing more retirements even though an increasing number of older people want to keep working. Many can't afford to retire, especially after the financial collapse demolished their nest eggs.

Some have no choice.

Nancy Rhoades is just 56, so she won't be eligible for retirement benefits for six more years. She's pretty confident she would qualify for disability benefits, but would rather work.

"You don't think of things like this happening to you," she said. "You want to be in a position to work until retirement, and even after retirement."

www.npr.org...

Bad news for everyone who's been paying into the system their entire lives only to find out that they can't get their dues.

This reminds me of a FRONTLINE video report called Can You Afford to Retire
Watch the whole video on their website here:
www.pbs.org...

Half of America's private sector workforce has no employer-sponsored retirement plan; among the half that does, twice as many workers have contribution plans like 401(k)s than have lifetime pensions, a complete reversal from 25 years ago. The move from lifetime pensions to 401(k) plans has meant that employees now bear much more of the cost -- and risk -- for saving for retirement. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in 1978 workers put in only 11 percent of total contributions to retirement plans, while corporations put in 89 percent; by 2000, the employee share had leapt to 51 percent and the company share had fallen to 49 percent.

reply to post by warrenb


Aka: expect SS taxes to go up.

And SS doesn't have 2.5 trillion in reserves, its been pilliaged by the other agencies....

The loss of jobs, is causing Baby Boomers to take an early retirement,

which is putting more strain on an already broke Social Security.

The money people expect for retirement is no more...imo.

S&F

things ARE going downhill fast..example->

..The latest scam from the BLS is that the subsidy in the “Cash for Clunkers” program will be deducted from the CPI.
This is being done to artificially reduce the CPI and reduce pension payout, as well as Social Security payout. ...

probably 'the international forecaster' is the source.



Not only the above...BUT... i've heard a rumor on some 'talk radio' program that Obama has already decided that in the years 2010 & 2011
there will be NO COLA increases in the Pensions and Social-Security programs.....
i reckon that IF the Congress votes against the Obama schemes of NO COLA whatsoever, then the above payback of the Billions in 'cash-for-clunkers' will be in effect... and thus erase any increased payouts to the nations retired or disabled...

hmmmm

[edit on 28-9-2009 by St Udio]

This is from Feb. of this year. Congress is set up to automatically get a raise while their constituents struggle with no job and older Americans have their pay frozen. A few years ago they refused their pay raise until the minimum wage was raised...which, of course it was. I am betting they will not do that for seniors.

This follows the news from this weekend that Congress approved $93,000 more in petty cash for each member. The Omaha World-Herald reported:

The nation's financial picture has been grim for months, but don't worry about lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

They just got a $4,700 raise.

The 2009 annual salary for rank-and-file senators and representatives is $174,000, up from last year's $169,300.

The legislative pay hike comes as major U.S. employers shed jobs by the tens of thousands. Many worker salaries have been frozen or cut. Their benefits often have been slashed.

Families are pinching pennies and watching retirement accounts evaporate.In this decade, Congress has allowed the pay increase to go through for every year except 2007. The percentage increase is tied to private-sector wages and cannot be more than increases granted to general federal employees.

Under this bipartisan system, lawmakers are protected from ever having to vote to raise their own pay. The system, adopted in 1989, allows members of Congress to prevent a challenger from using a pay-raise vote against them at election time.

link

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0c04a820c7f4.jpg[/atsimg]

Sorry.. I'm too @#$ pissed off to say anything else.





[edit on 28-9-2009 by RoofMonkey]

Historians will look back at America's decline and fall and say, "whew, that sure was a quick one! They even beat Holland's rise and fall as a great power."