Medicare’s and Social Security’s trust funds are running out of money, and doing it faster than thought, according to a new updated projection from the Congressional Budget Office. The Medicare hospital trust fund, is projected to begin spending more annually than the contributions to and income from the trust fund beginning in five years-2031 and to be completely gone by 2040, at which point contributions will be significantly short of expenditures, which under current law would necessitate a substantial cut to provider payments. Imagine how happy they will be and how eager to serve Medicare patients. The eligibility age for Medicare should immediately be raised to 70, as should Social Security’s. And Social Security Disability needs a complete review, which would result in at least have the recipient’s being taken off the rolls and therefore also off Medicare. SS Disability is a joke, it is a playground for fraud, scams, and slackers who are too “anxious” or “depressed” to work.
I hope we don’t have to wait til the last minute to address this, but our gutless politicians in both parties keep acting like this isn’t a problem. It is and it will be a disaster when reality hits. (CBO Report)
I agree. I mistakenly opted to go on SS at 65 because the higher payment for waiting for 70 didn’t give a “decent ROI.” But iI didn’t retire until I was 79, so for 24 years I got paid money I didn’t need … thus raising my tax bracket. That said, what I earned on the payments made during that time far exceeded the amount that SS was willing to pay me.
In reply to james.
The decision to take SS early or wait until age 70 in order to receive the higher monthly benefit is a simple math exercise with one unknown variable. That variable being what you expect your personal life expectancy to be (adjusted for risk of being over estimating your personal life expectancy) .
The break even point is approximately age 87. If you expect to die before reaching age 87 due to health family history, etc, then better to take SS early. If you expect to live past age 90, then definitely better to delay until age 70. If your life expectancy falls into the 87-90 age range, then it becomes a toss up depending on your risk tolerance. Its also affected by age of spouse since surviving spouse ‘s benefits are adjusted based on decedents ss benefits. if your spouse is much younger, then generally better to delay.
the lower earning spouse should generally start taking early.
One of the few good things Jimmy Carter did was get congress to raise the SS retirement age from 65 to 70, albeit with a 40 + year delay in implementation.
the 1978 (?) law change did not become fully effective until 2027