It's My Money!

I've recently heard people say they voted for the candidate that was going to protect Social Security because they had paid into the system all these years and it's their money. Do people really believe that Social Security is a savings plan like an IRA or other retirement account? I looked at the CNN Money website to see if I could find out if Social Security really is a savings account. Admittedly, my research is shallow and limited. What I found was that the Social Security benefits are just that, benefits.

I don't think that term describes the money you will withdraw from your retirement account. When I think of benefits, I think of something I get that I didn't pay for. An employer may provide health insurance in whole or in part to its employees as a benefit. A civic or religious group may have a spaghetti supper with all proceeds benefiting a family who has incurred unusual expenses due to a catastrophe. A neighborhood may experience an increase in property values because they benefit from a few nicer homes being built there.

CNN Money uses the term to describe Social Security payments. I think this is how it works: withholdings from today's employees are given to today's retirees; tomorrow's employees will be taxed for tomorrow's retirees. So the money I pay into the system today is not kept for me to withdraw later, it is used today as benefits for people currently drawing payments. Today's retirees don't draw their own money from SS because that money was used yesterday as benefits to yesterday's retirees.

One of the problems facing our nation regarding Social Security is the number of people entering retirement is growing and those already retired are living longer. The aging Baby Boomers and the advances in healthcare mean more people are drawing money for a longer period of time. The retiring Baby Boomers are also coming out of the work force so fewer employees are being taxed, therefore less money is going into the system.

Bottom line...Social Security payments are not "my money" but the money of people working at the time I'm receiving payments. "My money" is long gone having been the benefits of those retired at that time.

So whatever your political posture may be and whatever your retirement concerns may be, please don't demand your money from the Social Security system. And realize that such a system cannot go on forever without the fiscal responsibility of taking out no more than is being put in. I did not say that you take out what you put in. Today's retirees cannot expect to get out more than today's employees are putting in.

With fewer employees, the pie is getting smaller. And with more retirees, the smaller pie has to be cut into smaller pieces. That's reality.

A biblical perspective would be for Christians to take care of the elderly who need help. The church is tasked with that duty, not the government. But as America has trusted man more than God and has turned to government more than to the church for answers, we are where we are. The solution is to return to a dependence upon God and turn from a dependence upon government. A little personal responsibility would go a long way.

A few years ago, a Christian told me this: "If you can't trust your government to help you out, who can you trust?" The answer is simple: God and his people.