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There is no Social Security fund. The SS money we pay goes into the general fund like any other tax and the benefits are paid out of the general fund like any other government outlay. So there is no fund to go broke, just current workers paying FICA taxes and current retirees taking money out of the general fund based on how much they earned over their lifetime. At present there is more FICA money going in to the general fund than there is SS money being paid out but in the future this will not be the case unless something is done. The longer we wait to do something, the more drastic the change will have to be, so doing something now makes sense.
The proposal to establish personal accounts is the first step to creating a real retirement fund. I am too old to benefit from this but younger workers should welcome this change. If the money I invested in SS over the years had been put to work in almost any average mutual fund I would have far more money than I will get from SS. The personal account would be a real fund that can be invested instead of just having the FICA tax going into the general fund.
It is interesting that neither the Republican or Democrat polititians have proposed one change that would benefit SS and that is to make government employees (including themselves) pay FICA taxes like the rest of us. Instead they are excempt and have their own retirement plans which are put into real funds that can be invested. I'm sure they would want no part of having to join SS. If only we had the same choice.
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