Aug 15, 2017

31 Days of Gratitude: Day 15

Day 15:  Social Security

If you are in the US, you know that Social Security is the program that provides $$ for folks in their older years. It also provides $$ for children under 18, when a parent participating in the Social Security program dies, and for disabled individuals. In June of 2017, 61 million people collected SS (about one in every six Americans). As we baby boomers age, that number will go up and then drop a bit.

Yesterday SS celebrated its 82th anniversary and I realized that I'm thankful that it exists. Unfortunately, a lot of folks can't or don't save towards retirement and SS ends up being all or most of their income. HINT: You cannot live decently on SS alone, unless you have no debt, don't like to eat, and are very healthy OR live with your daughter. (Yes, that's one of the reasons my Mom lived with us.... )

Speaking of which, if a relative on SS dies, contact the Social Security Administration immediately. It's not uncommon for thieves to scan death notices and then try and steal the dead person's SS number. Plus, you don't want those SS checks to continue to pile up on your deceased relatives account. It's a pain to give it all back.

In any event, I'm grateful that SS exists -- not just because the husband and I will collect it, but because it is often the only thing keeping some folks alive.

And that's my social commentary for today.


1 comment:

Leslie Miller said...

I'm grateful, too. My husband and I both use it but, thankfully we aren't completely dependent on it. I'm grateful for that, too.