If you are trying to fund a retirement
lifestyle that roughly equals what you
were spending during your working
years, personal savings play a crucial
role. Prior to Social Security and
Corporate Plans, personal savings
and assets were the sole source of
“retirement” income. For most people,
these assets were insufficient to allow
them to live on their own—they lived
with their kids.During the 1950s and ‘60s, the
personal savings rate averaged 10-12%
of disposable income. As people came
to trust Social Security and pension
plans, the rate dropped to 2-3%.
Emphasis on personal savings was
renewed in 1974 with the introduction
of Individual Retirement Accounts
(IRAs).Today, personal savings (as a
percentage of disposable income) is on
the order of 4-5%.
2. Social Security was signed into.. This succeeded until the 1970s, when double-digit inflation crippled the majority of defined benefit pension plans. Over time, retirees’ purchasing power was cut in half, spurring negotiations to double their pension amounts. As a repercussion, pension plans were suddenly 50% underfunded. Additionally, productivity gains took effect (e.g. we produce the same tons of steel as we did in 1960 with one-tenth of the manpower), squeezing workerto-retiree ratios
Make America Great Again for the People It Was Great for Already
It seems safe to assume that, in the eyes of Mr. Trump’s overwhelmingly white male fans, America was greater a half-century ago. Indeed, it was pretty great — for them.
It’s not just that factory jobs were more plentiful or that women and minorities were largely kept from positions of power. Large national programs that radically changed the country kept America great specifically for white men. New Deal-era systems like Social Security and unemployment insurance; rules that demarcated minimum wages and maximum work hours and protected unionization; and the G.I. Bill at the end of World War II substantially transformed the country and created a booming middle class. But they all purposefully left out most women and minorities.
Republicans Against Retirement
Indeed, more than half the funds raised by Republican candidates through June came from just 130 families.
.. By a very wide margin, ordinary Americans want to see Social Security expanded. But by an even wider margin, Americans in the top 1 percent want to see it cut. And guess whose preferences are prevailing among Republican candidates.
.. You often see political analyses pointing out, rightly, that voting in actual primaries is preceded by an “invisible primary” in which candidates compete for the support of crucial elites.
Securing Social Security
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities also helpfully points out that “by coincidence,” the amount Social Security would need to stay completely in balance over the next 75 years is almost exactly the same as the amount the government lost when Congress extended the Bush tax cuts for people making over $250,000 a year.