In case anyone thought racism in America was dead . . .

[MSAccessRookie]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Insurance programs are based on the fact that most people will not collect anything at all. A program where everyone who pays in also collects is by definition not insurance.

Earlier someone (I am not sure who) referred to "Social Security Caps". In reality, because of these "Caps", very few people get out of the program anything near what they actually pay into it. A Lesson in Basic Social Security Funding would be appropriate at this time.


There are three kinds of "Caps" in the program.

1. A maximum amount of dollars that you can receive per month regardless of how much you contributed in their lifetime.
2. The Number of months in a given year that it takes for you to reach your "Annual Cap".
3. The Number of years that it takes for you to reach your "Lifetime Cap".

When I retire (Assuming I live that long and Social Security is still here to pay me), I expect to receive the maximum amount because:

• I used to reach my Annual cap by August, and therefore In effect, from January to August I was paying for my own Social Security, and From September to December I was paying for someone else's.
• I reached my Lifetime Cap when I turned 44 (A few years ago), and since then, 100% of what I pay funds someone else's Social Security, since I am unable to increase the amount that I can be paid out.

I am not making these statements as a matter of complaint, but rather to show that the people who said that it was a type of insurance are more correct then they are being given credit for.

[MSAccessRookie]

Originally Posted by KenHigg

I'm guessing that if you have a birth certificate you can get ss even if you never paid a dime into the system.

This may be true, but you can collect more than you have paid in.

[KenHigg]

Originally Posted by MSAccessRookie

Earlier someone (I am not sure who) referred to "Social Security Caps". In reality, because of these "Caps", very few people get out of the program anything near what they actually pay into it. A Lesson in Basic Social Security Funding would be appropriate at this time.


There are three kinds of "Caps" in the program.

1. A maximum amount of dollars that you can receive per month regardless of how much you contributed in their lifetime.
2. The Number of months in a given year that it takes for you to reach your "Annual Cap".
3. The Number of years that it takes for you to reach your "Lifetime Cap".

When I retire (Assuming I live that long and Social Security is still here to pay me), I expect to receive the maximum amount because:

• I used to reach my Annual cap by August, and therefore In effect, from January to August I was paying for my own Social Security, and From September to December I was paying for someone else's.
• I reached my Lifetime Cap when I turned 44 (A few years ago), and since then, 100% of what I pay funds someone else's Social Security, since I am unable to increase the amount that I can be paid out.

I am not making these statements as a matter of complaint, but rather to show that the people who said that it was a type of insurance are more correct then they are being given credit for.

Where'd you get all of this info?

[MSAccessRookie]

The Social Security Administration has plenty of information available but Most of the information I got from HR Bulletins and Union postings from the place that I used to work.

[Brianwarnock]

Originally Posted by Alisa

They aren't insurance programs. An insurance program is where you pay in a small percentage of what you might claim, based on the risk that you would actually file a claim.
Everybody gets social security and medicare. Therefore, they are not insurance programs.

Whose definition is that.
I paid for my house with a with profits Insurance policy, it was designed to pay off the mortgage and hand me a nice little bonus, which it did. They are not sold these days but it was an insurance policy, if I had died it would have paid off the mortgage even if it was in the first year.

Brian

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by KenHigg

I'm guessing that if you have a birth certificate you can get ss even if you never paid a dime into the system.

Not true. Your benefits are calculated on the basis of how much you have paid in.

[MSAccessRookie]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Not true. Your benefits are calculated on the basis of how much you have paid in.

Not exactly. Your MONTHLY benefits are calculated based on that. Once you have paid money into the system (and not as much as you might imagine), you can collect for the rest of your life (once you are eligible). For some people who work on and off, and do not hold long standing jobs, this means that they actually stand a chance to be able to take out more than they put in.

[NauticalGent]

Originally Posted by pbaldy

Ron Paul was the only candidate that would have done that.

The smartest comment made in this entire thread...