Baby Boomers Turning Sixty

As another year winds down, I felt that it would be a good time to remind everyone that another year that we had to prepare for the Baby Boomers retirement impacts has gone without anything being done to prepare for it.

The Bush Administration did push for individual retirement accounts this year. This really is the only issue that I can recall involving Social Security. This plan was not an effort to solve any problems though. Sen. Charles Grassley said , "Personal accounts don't solve that problem.....You still have the insolvency of the Social Security trust fund." President Bush has also said that personal accounts do not solve the problem.

There have to be serious changes if we are going to fix this issue. Social Security was designed for people retiring in the sixty year old age range. Back then most Americans also died in the sixty year old age range. The amount of money funding this program was only designed to support the limited number of people who lived longer than expected. With people living longer today because of better healthcare, there to be a change. The changes should have been gradual adjustments over the years. We have made some changes, but no where near enough.

Here is what Congress has to do. They have to raise the retirement age, which they have done. Then they have to collect more money from taxpayers to raise revenues. You cannot cut benefits to help save the system. The cost of living never goes down and the current system does not provide more than people need to survive. Finally, they have to base benefits on affluence. Multimillionaires do not need as much help as average Americans.

These changes will have some Americans fuming, but before you get mad I will admit that benefits based on wealth is not fair. Now I would like to burst your bubble and inform you that life is not fair. It never has been and it never will be. That's life, deal with it. Who needs Social Security more, Bill Gates or your mother? It is not fair but it will be easier for Bill Gates to live without Social Security than it will be for your parents to go without.

It would also be unfair for me to not mention that Social Security was only designed to be a financial safety net. It was never designed provide enough money to support you through your retirement. You are supposed to be able to build up some sort of retirement on your own to some extent. This leads me back to the last paragraph. Who needs a safety net more, Bill gates or your parents?

These are real questions about Social Security reform. There are going to be real decisions that have to be made by Congress. Yes, it is going to hurt. The only question remains when you want to hurt and how much do you want to hurt. This situation is similar to a disease, it is better to cure early than to start treatment when you are on your deathbed.