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A Pessimistic View of Social Security’s Long Term Viability
As many of our readers are aware, we’ve commented repeatedly through the years on the need for legislative action to resolve the Social Security program’s impending solvency crisis, often citing various proposals for Congress to consider and even, occasionally, suggesting a glimmer of hope that the matter will get attention before it’s too late. Some quarters, of course, do not share the optimism we sometimes share, and a video post yesterday on local12.com (WKRC Cincinnati) featuring remarks by Rob De Lessio of Strategic Wealth Designers is an example. “While it is unpredictable what the future of social security will look like exactly, we can assume that the baby boomers will have exhausted a majority of the funds, causing younger generations to be forced to think differently when it comes to planning for their retirement.” The future is indeed unpredictable, so it’s not necessarily bad advice to factor this uncertainty into retirement financial planning, but it’s also important to know that the total absence of Social Security benefits is certainly unlikely, since the projected “worst case” scenario put forth by the program’s trustees still suggests a continued benefit stream of about 78% of scheduled payments after cash reserves evaporate. Despite this dire projection, we remain optimistic–or at least hopeful–that Congress will prioritize attention to this critical program before it’s too late to comfortably correct. In any event, check out the post and the video of this interview here…