If I had a choice when I was young, I would have opted to purchase the disability part of Social Security, but not the retirement benefit. That should have cost only about 1% of my pay. In fact, I would have been willing to pay double that for a much richer benefit than social security provides.
Then I would have liked to see, the remainder of the 14+% of social security taxes put into a tax free retirement account of my choice.
Social Security was never intended to be a retirement plan, but rather a disability plan. I support the original intent as it makes the most sense.
Social security was passed when the life expectancy of Americans was around 59.7 years. Now, it is 78 years!
If my social security contributions in excess of what would be needed to provide disability coverage had earned what my 401K earned over the same time, I would be receiving $6000 monthly instead of $2000! The government is ripping off people by borrowing our social security contributions rather than investing it! The difference is effectively a "tax" on our retirement.
Just as importantly, people who die before retirement age get nothing, but if we had a "social security" tax-free retirement, the provisions of the account should let your spouse roll it over into his or her account or take it as a death benefit.
Now that would be awesome, instead the government needs our social security payments as they represent 35% of tax revenues. Lauren, you especially at your age are getting ripped off by social security. Your generation should be pushing to end social security as it is today and replace it with something that you have more control over.
Right now, unless things change. You will likely not be eligible to retire before age 70 and you will have to pay far more into a system that will pay you far less than you deserve. I am 67 and while I put far less into my IRA/401(k) than I paid in social security, I could annuitize it at over $5,000 a month, that is something you could live on... social security is increasely a joke.
Medicare is a different story... each person's health care expenses are so variable and unpredictable as it would be impossible for individuals to have the "right amount" of money to pay their health care costs. Instead most people would have to save far more than the need to avoid being one of those people that need far more than they saved. Medicare should be a lifelong health insurance plan, that we fund through our taxes, but lifelong "retirement/savings plans" are something the government has shown it is very poor at... just look at the National debt.
