If you could opt out of social security, would you do it?

[Dissipate]

If you could opt out of social security starting tomorrow, would you do it? This means that you would cease having to pay 7% and your employer wouldn't have to pay anything either. But to go along with that you would only receive benefits up to the point that you already paid in.

State your age as well as your answer.

 

[Ryan]

Hell yeah - I'm paying into a system that will never pay me.

I'm 21.

 

[RichardE]

No

21years of age, 32k/year

 

[Dissipate]

Originally posted by: RichardE
No

21years of age, 32k/year

Don't you live in Canada?

 

[Engineer]

I'm 37 and I still would do it. Wait a few more years and I may change my mind as I have less and less opportunity to invest with the money.

 

[raz3000]

Absolutely. I can save and invest my future earnings myself.

22/student

 

[RichardE]

Originally posted by: Dissipate

Originally posted by: RichardE
No

21years of age, 32k/year

Don't you live in Canada?

Yeah, Our CPP (SS equilavent) will be broke before I hit that age too.

 

[Rainsford]

Probably, but I'd feel bad about it. Maybe because I realize SS isn't an investment plan, and treating it as such would hurt people who currently rely on the program. On the other hand, I was never really asked about it...so I don't know.

 

[Forsythe]

Nope. I get free healthcare, and if anything unpredictable should happen i get cared for as much as i will ever need. Without having to pay for it.
Same with my parents, and everyone else.

[edit]

Yeah, i'm not american.

And we get the same quality of healthcare as you do, and we pay less then half of what you do.

 

[Polish3d]

Originally posted by: raz3000
Absolutely. I can save and invest my future earnings myself.

22/student

Same here, AFTER doing a bit of research. I was kind of hoping Bush's privatization would go through although I didnt research it enough to make fully decide. Lots of FUD being thrown around on that.

I am 23/student

 

[trenchfoot]

absolutely. but only because for all intents and purposes congress is treating my "donations" as a corporate give-away. instead of those crooks leaving those funds alone to acquire interest and at least extend the viability of the fund as long as posible, they're using it as their personal piggy bank.

if my money is not now gaining any interest in the SS fund to benenfit me personally in my retirement then why should i leave it in there if it's only being used to benefit corporate welfare slime such halliburton, exxonmobile et al?

*edit* - fogot to add - shouldn't i invest those funds into these corporations and be left holding the end of the stick with the gold on it rather than the end with the cr@p that's it's currently dipped in?

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

Without hesitation, yes. Going to be 34 next week.

That'd be $4500 a year to drop in the ol' Roth or a four-plex.

 

[Meuge]

Originally posted by: Rainsford
Probably, but I'd feel bad about it. Maybe because I realize SS isn't an investment plan, and treating it as such would hurt people who currently rely on the program. On the other hand, I was never really asked about it...so I don't know.

Me too. I feel that it's an unfair question though. As all "safety net" plans, it is not meant to be appealing to the people who pay for it.

I am not poor, but $25k/year certainly doesn't buy much in NYC... doesn't even buy a decent apartment (I have to take loans) and an extra 7% would definitely go towards making my life right now a bit more acceptable. I don't think I'd feel this way if I was making $300k/year... but hey - I might get greedy, who knows.

 

[Jadow]

yes

 

[ericlp]

Well it depends...

What about the money I've been putting in there all these years? If I opt out will I forfeit not getting anything at 64? OR ......

If I opt out will I just get what I put in from the past? But if I lost everything then forget it. Who knows I might make it to 64! Another 22 years away.

Altho, if I were 20 years of age I'd be saying Heck YES!!!! With out a doubt.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Forsythe
Nope. I get free healthcare, and if anything unpredictable should happen i get cared for as much as i will ever need. Without having to pay for it.
Same with my parents, and everyone else.

[edit]

Yeah, i'm not american.

And we get the same quality of healthcare as you do, and we pay less then half of what you do.

I like how you call it free healthcare and then say that you pay for it.

 

[BBond]

HELL NO!

Now you kids get to work and stop talking all this nonsense. :laugh:

And be sure to keep those cards and letters coming!

 

[techs]

Its a bit of a misleading question. Many people are saying they would opt out because they are young and they believe SS will go away and they will lose all they put in.
Of course even if we do nothing SS will pay 76 percent of what it plans to pay.
And it would only take one Democratic President and Democratic Congress to put the SS surplus in a locked box and adjust the retirement age and peoples faith in SS would be restored.
It is only Bush and Neocons policies of bankrupting the country and killing SS that are panicking people into thinking SS won't be there for them.
SS has the overwhelming support of the American people. And in 10 years as the boomers retire the support for SS will be so overwhelming that it will be untouchable.
Your question should have specified whether they would opt out knowing SS would still be there.
And notice that the young are more likely to want to opt out. There is something to be said for older and wiser heads.
And I think I will start a thread soon asking people why in heck they think their employer will GIVE them the same amount they would have paid in to SS if SS was abolished.
The fact is within a few years that portion would be wiped out or severly reduced. Then in a few more years the amount that the individual would have contributed will no longer be given to an employee.
Why? Its free enterprise, baby. Money that the worker doesn't see is not considered when salaries are offered. Once the worker receives it the company will lower raises and lower starting salaries since the workers will not really see the loss of the money.

 

[zendari]

yes.

 

[compuwiz1]

Age 46
Yes

However, I believe in mandatory withholding, but I favor choice of investment, vs. social security.

Privatization FTW.

 

[Legend]

Yes. 22.

But we are still obligated to transition off it so we don't have a bunch of homeless elderly people.

A diversitifed portofolio using MPT should make roughly 12-4% before inflation. So I could use that money much more effectively than SS. Some people argue that dividends are decreasing and that "you can't save for your retirement."

While it's true that dividends have decreased, you need to look at why companies have done this: Taxes. Instead of exposing all that profit to taxes, companies have opted to defer taxes by repurchasing its own shares, reinvest it's earnings or expand it's services/operations. In 2003, Bush signed the "Jobs and Growth Reconciliations Act of 2003" which reduced taxes on dividends. Since then, dividends have significantly increased.

 

[RichardE]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: Forsythe
Nope. I get free healthcare, and if anything unpredictable should happen i get cared for as much as i will ever need. Without having to pay for it.
Same with my parents, and everyone else.

[edit]

Yeah, i'm not american.

And we get the same quality of healthcare as you do, and we pay less then half of what you do.

I like how you call it free healthcare and then say that you pay for it.

Our taxes support it, just as your taxes support Medicair. The difference is no one in Canada is going bankrupt, without food ect to have to pay for treatment.

 

[Red Dawn]

No problem if I and everybody else who paid into it gets it back so we can invest it.

 

[Aisengard]

Yes, but it's a loaded question, and it's not the point of the system. It's a little bit of wealth redistribution that benefits the people who will be poorer than me. I'm sure if you ask future-minded minimum-wage earner they'd say no.

SS isn't an investment plan.

 

[BriGy86]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
No problem if I and everybody else who paid into it gets it back so we can invest it.

my thoughts exactly

and BTW this thread needs a poll