2% increase in Social Security

Got my letter from social security showing the increase for next year. After the 2% raise, and the rise in the cost of Medicare was deducted I will get $3.00 a month raise for 2018. My husband will get a whopping $10 a month increase for 2018. I just do not know where we will spend all our $156 first.......geez! If Paul Ryan gets his way next year and goes after Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security we may get a bill from the government for money owed.

At one point, Ryan had implied that Medicare should run about $1000 a month. Average SS per citizen is $1300. Doesn't bode well for future generations who are currently in debt with stagnant wages and zero savings. We are building separate buildings on our property as rentals and possible places for our adult kids, just in case the whole mess craters. I doubt SS and Medicare will be around in a few decades.

Who knows about a ‘few decades’ hence, but..... about 20 years ago when I was contemplating early retirement one of the things I had to contend with was the relentless rumors that Social Security nor Medicare would be around “much longer”.  I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now, but to each his own.

Defarge wrote:At one point, Ryan had implied that Medicare should run about $1000 a month. Average SS per citizen is $1300. Doesn't bode well for future generations who are currently in debt with stagnant wages and zero savings. We are building separate buildings on our property as rentals and possible places for our adult kids, just in case the whole mess craters. I doubt SS and Medicare will be around in a few decades.

I have no idea how people of my generation survived. If the gov't or mommy and daddy don't take care of them nowadays I guess they are just helpless. Die early so they don't have to wait so long.

RickS wrote:Who knows about a ‘few decades’ hence, but..... about 20 years ago when I was contemplating early retirement one of the things I had to contend with was the relentless rumors that Social Security nor Medicare would be around “much longer”.  I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now, but to each his own.

They used to be rumors then and people didn’t believe them because the economy was booming and number of retirees were few. Now we have a teetering economy and the start of baby boomers retiring.

They keep saying the same things in Canada. I've heard the same "there won't be CPP or OAS" rumors for 30 years. I think the government starts these rumors so people don't demand more....

CanuckBob wrote:They keep saying the same things in Canada. I've heard the same "there won't be CPP or OAS" rumors for 30 years. I think the government starts these rumors so people don't demand more....

I think you have a good point. I also think that there's something amiss if the Govt. can pass a tax cut the size of this latest one, but wouldn't be able to keep its word to the people about Social Security. And then, there's the immense military budget...

The baby boomer effect is very real and quantifiable. Could it be that just as we don’t like to imagine the end of our lives we also don’t want to imagine the end of an era, our era. A change is going to come, what it is no one knows, but we cannot stick our head in the sand and believe that things will continue as always.

You guys are doing great. My wifes SS went down $4. :(

Jreboll wrote:The baby boomer effect is very real and quantifiable. Could it be that just as we don’t like to imagine the end of our lives we also don’t want to imagine the end of an era, our era. A change is going to come, what it is no one knows, but we cannot stick our head in the sand and believe that things will continue as always.

Well I don't qualify for the Canadian OAS or CPP for another 11 years. If it's gone then I'll open a taco/tequila stand. I'm willing to bet its still there is some form though..........besides I've got way better things to fret about.

SunshineyDay wrote:You guys are doing great. My wifes SS went down $4. :(

Wow, I thought that, by law, a SS COLA increase could NOT result in the Medicare Part B rise cause one's SS benefit to 'go negative'. A “hold harmless” provision in federal law prohibits Medicare from raising Part B premiums if that action would reduce beneficiaries’ Social Security benefits.

Jreboll wrote:The baby boomer effect is very real and quantifiable. Could it be that just as we don’t like to imagine the end of our lives we also don’t want to imagine the end of an era, our era. A change is going to come, what it is no one knows, but we cannot stick our head in the sand and believe that things will continue as always.

Totally agree. 
I think it's scary to think about, glad I'm old.

Rick maybe you are right. I went back and reviewed the statement and the 2% raise ended up with the ss benefit staying the same as 2017 because of the part b raise. I misread the info. So it ended up being no raise :(

OK, yes, that is what I understand to be the rule in a case like yours. I havn't received my statement yet but am expecting the 2% COLA increase to be negated by the Part B increase.... resulting in no increase. Fortunately it is not a 'game changer' but I know for some folks every $ is important and they may be shocked to see no increase when they have heard that they will be getting a 2% raise.

We have elected not to take Part B, so I don't have first hand knowledge of that. But I thought that once you start taking part B, the premiums were fixed and would never rise. Or did it mean that they would only rise by the COL increase?

We doing moving sales for people, we have heard many of them say that they thought that they would stay here forever and then ended up going back and having to pay high penalties. Better not to give it up, you just never know.

Hensley wrote:We doing moving sales for people, we have heard many of them say that they thought that they would stay here forever and then ended up going back and having to pay high penalties. Better not to give it up, you just never know.

"you just never know" is reason enough for many people. In my case, I prefer the nearly 37,000 US dollars I've saved by not paying for a service I couldn't use .

Is that you personally or for two?

RickS wrote:Is that you personally or for two?

That's for me and my husband, and is based on less than the current cost. I used $210 per month. In answer to an earlier question asked: yes, they have increased the monthly Medicare Part B cost over the years. I have faith that they will continue to up the price.

Gogo wrote:We have elected not to take Part B, so I don't have first hand knowledge of that. But I thought that once you start taking part B, the premiums were fixed and would never rise. Or did it mean that they would only rise by the COL increase?  

No, Part B premiums can and do rise. They are based on some formula relating to the program’s cost. As long as costs associated with Part B keep rising (how do YOU spell forever!?!), Part B will continue to rise.

But due to law, Part B premiums cannot rise if there is no Social Security COL for a given year. For the last 2? years there has been no increase in SS COL payments so the Part B premium did/could not rise. The 2018 increase in SS COL of 2% will cause ‘most’ of our Part B premiums to rise to catch up with the now current rate (but it cannot eat up more than the 2% increase of SS). My 2% SS increase for 2018 netted me just $4 due to this ‘catch-up’ provision in law.

The current individual premium for Part B, for most of us with adjusted income of less than $170,000 per couple, is $134/mo.

Thank you RickS and Gringal for your answers to my question. I didn't realize this. Good to know.