YASST (yet another SS Thread)

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Author Message   Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 693 Registered: 5-2004 Posted on Monday, February 7, 2005 - 4:31 pm:        There are a few things that no one seems to be talking about with respect to the privatization of SS. First, your investment options are not going to be as broad as most people think. There will be a limited set of investment options, mostly conservative, so no one is going to make a killing in their privatized retirement acount. Yes, the general market has historically gone up by some percent each year, but I wonder what that return will look like in the investments that are avialable in these accounts. Second, it doesn't seem as if anyone from the adminsitration is outright saying that people will have more money to retire on under private accounts, though that seems to be a harping point (among others) for those pushing for them. Third, I've read (though I don't remember where - not the NYT, I'm sure of that) that one plan (or part of several plans) is to have the government take some or all of your savings when you retire to annuitize your savings. So essentially you're being given a play account, then big brother will take it back and decide when you can have your money. It's unlike an IRA or 401(k), where you can withdraw most or all of your funds when you retire. And you won't be able to move "your money" (a misnomer if this point is true) to a more flexible account where you can make more rewarding investments. I'd like to be proven wrong on all these items, since I generally favor privatization. isn't the plan (or at least parts of it) supposed to be released this week?   Bobkat Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 7516 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 9:31 am:        I believe the plan requires that you buy an annuity when you retire that will provide income at the poverty threshold level. Any balance is yours to do with as you see fit, much like a 401k. One of the interesting unanswered questions is if the 4% contribution will be limited by the maximum income level subject to Social Security withholding or not. If not, this is another nice windfall for the "comfortable".   Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 5397 Registered: 1-2003 Posted on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 11:03 am:        There are two op-ed pieces in today's Times. David Brooks strikes me as very right wing, yet I like what he said. The other piece is by Krugman. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html If you don't have a login, use username "laurabojo" and password "chitwn". I got this pair from http://www.bugmenot.com