Lack of retirement savings makes entitlements sacrosanct (communities, support, benefits)
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Actaully the governamnt can chnage what is their word as they do all the time.The promises of SS and medicare are not fixed as the trustees poit out and the law on returns if not fixed by the laws their of funding.They estimate that in 20 somethign that the return will be 77% of what it is now by the funding laws if payroll taxes not increased for example. No general funds can be used by law.
Mom' s home would not have brought in enough money to support her. She lived in the rural part of a parish that is rapidly growing. Her home is considered out dated.
Reverse mortgages sound a lot better than they live.
I'm not arguing with your statement, just noting that the plan is to transfer funds from the "retirement trust" to the "disability trust." I haven't looked at the regs, but considering that both programs are under Title 2 and both are funded from FICA taxes, it is reasonable to assume that this is the current plan.
You are correct and that is where the fund money came from. It however becomes a poltical risky move to continue that process as is, considering the fraud and issues within the disablity program. It could be allowed to go broke.
Even though Puerto Rico's population fell in the past 10 years, from 3.8 million people in 2000 to roughly 3.7 million today, the number of people on SSDI rose 25% from 2000 through 2009 to 188,298. The Social Security Administration sent roughly $163 million a month in SSDI benefits to Puerto Rico in 2009, the last available full-year data, accounting for 2% of the program's total spending.
In 2006, just 36% of applicants in Puerto Rico were approved for benefits. By 2010, the rate had rocketed. In December, 69% of applicants were approved, the highest one-month approval rate by any state or U.S. territory since 2002.
Lenora, thinking back on my comments I was indeed generalizing. What I was saying is that the first generation to retire after WWII, even though most did not have college degrees, in general enjoyed their elder years at least not destitute, and many were comfortably well off. None of the parents of all my middle class and lower middle class friends (either when I was growing up, or when I became an adult) fell through the floor financially---these parents had modest jobs by today's standards and routinely retired comfortably enough (on SS and other investments, modest or otherwise) and got all the medical care they needed and went into (not ritzy but) comfortable nursing homes. I don't recall there being "assisted living" or "retirement villages" like the ones we have today - they probably could not have afforded them. But if we look closely at how the post-WWII elders fared compared with boomers today who are not retiring with a bundle, it would be interesting to compare the differences in "comfort" in elder years.
A lot of Boomer problems could be eased by relocating to less expensive areas. It will be a challenge buy for many who worked in high cost areas a move would do wonders. But that is another thread.
...The Medicare problem is another story. Everyone is going to have to cut back in medical treatment. There is simply no way to make up the shortfall for Medicare, especially if the other debt problems worsen.
No reason to cut back on medical treatment. But there should definitely be cuts in reimbursement for certain things and types of treatment. Areas that really have to be looked at IMO are the prices Medicare pays for durable medical equipment - overuse of imaging - expensive "heroic care" for elderly very sick people when hospice care would be more appropriate - etc.
I don't see why an 80 year old shouldn't be able to pay for an MRI of his shoulder if he has a rotator cuff problem even if I don't think Medicare should reimburse for it. Note that my basic premise here is most tests shouldn't be done unless a doctor will or won't do something on the basis of the test result (and that is in fact how I handle my own medical stuff). And I doubt you'll find many doctors who will operate on an 80 year old with a rotator cuff problem - no matter what the MRI shows.
Note that I'd also like more attention to be paid to Medicare fraud (recent estimates of amounts paid for fraudulent Medicare claims are in low double digits % wise). There have been some front page articles in the WSJ about Medicare fraud - and they are really something. I would also probably give "whistle-blower" rewards to people who "snitch" on outfits that are engaged in fraudulent Medicare activities.
None of this is going to solve the whole problem - but they would be more than "baby steps" in the right direction. Robyn
You are correct and that is where the fund money came from. It however becomes a poltical risky move to continue that process as is, considering the fraud and issues within the disablity program. It could be allowed to go broke.
And don't forget that once someone is on SSDI for 2 years - he or she is entitled to Medicare as well. Robyn
IOW - that means that 5%+ of the total population of Puerto Rico is on SSDI.
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. I wonder if it would be possible for Congress to pass a law that simply makes residents of US territories (other than states) ineligible for SSDI, or create a tougher, harder program for residents of territories to claim benefits.
And don't forget that once someone is on SSDI for 2 years - he or she is entitled to Medicare as well. Robyn
Yeah the article went into that and it is being milked.
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lenora
