Give upfront options to married couples on the lower SS check for collecting SS in the future when a spouse dies. Currently, the spousal survivor loses the second check. That represents a 33-50% loss of SS income. Too many people can't survive financially with such a loss because their bills (rent, mortgage, car payments, property taxes, home insurance, etc.) do not go down 33-50% when a spouse dies (they don't go down at all!).
At the time that the second spouse applies for SS, based on life expectancy tables so that there is no extra cost to SS, offer 4 options on the lower check. Collect at 100% and forfeit that check on the death of the first spouse (that is the same as today), or collect the second check at 50% or 75% or 100% when the second spouse dies by taking correspondingly less money on the second check from the time both people are on SS. How much less depends on their ages and life expectancy tables.
That's the option I had with my corporate pension. The company did not care what option was chosen because, based on life expectancy tables and factored over thousands of retirees, the overall total cost to the company is the same. If the government adopts these extra options, there would be no increase in costs to the government, but a substantial increase in security for married couples on Social Security. That's a win-win solution.
Getting it Right - Welcome
The goal of this blog is to publish my thoughts on a variety of economic and political topics in the hopes that people who find them educational or beneficial will utilize them and/or forward to others who might find them interesting and/or worthwhile to promote to others, possibly including politicians who can push some of these ideas to fruition. The topics in my blog are meant to be of value on a long term basis, not a daily diary or political issue of the day log. If the information posted is useful to you, by all means utilize it and/or forward it as you see fit. If not useful, then merely ignore it. There are no universally agreed upon truisms and too little tolerance between some of those with opposing viewpoints to successfully convince the people with hardened opinions to move away from them. I am an analytical type person who will try to be as factual as I am able.
I disdain the current popularity of name calling and condemnation of viewpoints with no factual alternatives or logical solutions given that I see so often. If you don't have a solution based on fact and logic, then opt out of the discussion because you have nothing to contribute. My background is a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and 39 years working in middle management jobs for a major retailer. My opinions are forged on the personal experence of life, family, friends, and work as well as triumphs and mistakes that I have made and hopefully learned from. My hope is that this blog helps you.
My first topic will be about personal finance. I chose that one first because most of us work long and hard just to survive but not all of us realize our dreams of becoming financially independent from the labors of our work. Much of our political votes/thinking also focus on the economy and in particular how well we are personally doing financially.
It is relatively simple, without sacrificing the enjoyment of living for 'today' and even at moderate incomes, to retire as a millionaire or multi-millionaire, if you focus on that goal consistently from a young age. It is also simple to ensure that your child or grandchild retires rich. It merely requires a one time gift of just $2,000 invested wisely and the passage of time. Please read my first post on this blog to learn more.
An index/schedule of past and future posts and their dates will always be updated so that it becomes the first post that you see below. If the date of a post that you wish to read is preceded by the word "Posted", then find it below or click on the title in the Blog archive to review.
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