WEBVTT - Can We Count on Social Security or is it Busted? #413 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.960 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt, 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:05.600 and today we're asking the question can we count on 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:29.000 social Security? Or is it busted? Or is social Security busted? 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:32.279 Is it broken? Joel? I'm actually super excited that we're 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:35.160 gonna talk about social security this episode because I don't 0:00:35.159 --> 0:00:38.720 know if we've ever actually talked about it over the 0:00:38.800 --> 0:00:41.080 hundreds of definitely not in depth. Not in depth. We 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:43.040 may have talked about it, like, uh, maybe on like 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:45.640 an ask How the Money episode, how do I maximize 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:48.320 my Social Security benefits? Maybe we answer something like that 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:50.319 a year ago, that kind of thing, but we've never 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:53.559 dedicated an entire episode to social security, and so I'm 0:00:53.560 --> 0:00:55.480 stoked that we really are going to do a deep 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:59.000 dive into this thing that so many of us are 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:01.240 aware of, but we're not totally sure what to do 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:03.120 about it and truly how it's going to affect our 0:01:03.160 --> 0:01:04.720 lives on the road, especially with some of the recent 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:09.000 headlines about the projected shortfalls of social security, like, oh, 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:11.280 you're getting ahead of yourself now. I'm just saying people 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:12.960 are probably like, what's going on and how does this 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:15.360 affect me? We're going to cover that today before we 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:17.319 get to that. Man, I wanted to ask you a question, 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:20.679 is it frugal or cheap for me to buy used 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:24.560 presence for people for Christmas? And I'll give you the specifics, 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:26.960 but by kind of what your first? So my overall 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:31.440 general philosophy is it completely depends on the type of gift. Right, 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:33.760 Like you get a used car for a kid, that's 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.560 a that's a pretty awesome gift, right Like used cars 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:38.640 are that's a normal thing. But if you've got like 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:45.759 some secondhand shoes from like a thrift store that is 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:49.160 not gonna fly. Secondhand shoes or socks for that matter, 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:53.040 probably not the best gift. I think that would probably 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:55.520 be considered cheap. But what did you have specifically? Kind? 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:58.880 So here's here's what I've done. I someone on Facebook 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:02.600 yard sale recently posted a bunch of like the really 0:02:02.680 --> 0:02:06.760 nice kids trucks, the hest trucks, remember the other yeah, 0:02:06.760 --> 0:02:09.960 those like they're really good, and the Hess racing team 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:12.320 back in the day. I remember the green they had 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:15.800 the race cars exactly. Uh oh yeah. So my little 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:17.680 two year old every time he goes over to one 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:21.400 of our friend's house houses, they have a stash of 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:27.160 these trucks and he instantly like runs for that cupboard exactly, 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:29.080 and he will sit there and play for hours. And 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.760 so someone posted a bunch of these trucks for sale 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:35.200 and it wasn't cheap, but they're really really nice trucks 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:37.640 and they last a really long time. Um, but it 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:39.960 was way way, way, way less expensive. Like I'm getting 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.160 basically like twenty of these trucks for the like three 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:47.080 so um. Yeah, so I am buying him used cars 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.440 and these are going to then, uh, some of these 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:52.400 are going to be safe for Christmas, some for next 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:55.080 year's birthday, like just kind of keep keep adding to 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:59.680 the collection exactly. Over genius, Okay, alright, so yeah, in 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:02.720 this case, they're used. Totally cool, but the value proposition 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:05.040 is just way better than trying to buy new ones 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:07.840 or buy cheaper versions of those trucks that aren't nearly school. 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:11.360 Especially to uh kind of pinching off the truck hose 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:13.320 and only letting a few of them out maybe this 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:15.560 Christmas and then letting some of the other trucks come 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:18.240 out next year. I think that's genius because otherwise, if 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:19.799 you're going to give them to them all at once, 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:21.920 I'm like, dude, is that what you want to introduce 0:03:21.960 --> 0:03:26.839 into your life different has trucks. In that case, I'd 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:28.160 be like, we'll spend the same amount of money and 0:03:28.160 --> 0:03:30.600 just have less clutter in your life. But the ability 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:32.200 for him to kind of grow up with these and 0:03:32.240 --> 0:03:33.720 for him to maybe take care of him put them 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:35.640 away where they're supposed to go as he gets older. 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:38.160 I think that's a super frugal move, dude. And when 0:03:38.160 --> 0:03:40.480 I said buying a kids used car, I meant like 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:43.520 an actual Automa, Like I know you're going to talk 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:46.120 about actual trucks, but I mean it also depends on 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:50.280 your financial situation, right, because there's some individuals where it's like, hey, 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:52.000 that's what Christmas looks like for a lot of folks. 0:03:52.000 --> 0:03:53.920 And so obviously you have to be aware of the 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:57.280 kind of financial situation that you're in, um and and 0:03:57.400 --> 0:03:59.960 you never want to go into debt to buy new 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.120 stuff for gifts if you can't afford it. And if 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:07.760 that's the case, you know, giving experiences or homemade gifts. 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.120 There's so many other ways you can go use gifts. 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:12.440 I think is one of those things. Just be thoughtful 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:14.240 about the way that you're doing it. Absolutely. I mean, 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:16.560 I think even Kate would be down with something if 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:18.599 I even if I got it at a thrift store, 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:20.919 if it was something that she was looking for, or 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:23.200 if it was a vintage item or like a very 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:26.520 high quality item that I would never spend hundreds of 0:04:26.520 --> 0:04:29.080 dollars on just for this shirt or you know, like 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:31.440 a nice jacket, that kind of thing. To people around here, 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:33.599 they donate all sorts of stuff to the thrift store, 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:35.640 like really nice stuff, and I think some of those 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:39.200 nicer items would definitely be received well for sure. Al Right, well, 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.839 let's keep moving on, Matt. We're drinking a beer on 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:44.560 today's episode, like we do pretty much every episode. This 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:47.520 one is called Roosevelt Coffee Stout. It's by Old and 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:51.320 Tangy River Brewing, and listener Scott sent this one our way. 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:53.760 We'll give our thoughts on this beer at the end 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:56.440 of the episode. But Matt, let's get on to the 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:59.120 subject in hand. We are talking about social security and 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.640 we're asking, like, can any of us count on this 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.400 money being there when we hit retirement age, especially, and 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.159 we have a lot of listeners in their twenties and thirties. 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:10.440 Is the system busted or is there going to be 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:11.840 something there for me? And we just kind of want 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.920 to give people an overall picture of what's happening right now. Um, 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:16.520 and then kind of how you can think about the 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.960 role that social security should play in your retirement and 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:22.680 mat It makes me think, like climate change, it feels 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:25.400 like one of those things that we as individuals can 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:28.480 have very little impact on. We hear the stories about it, 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:31.120 we hear new studies come out, and it's hard not 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:33.920 to get just kind of like depressed or or or 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:37.240 just assume that there's nothing new. Isn't an individual can 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:39.760 do on that level to make a difference, Right, Well, 0:05:39.800 --> 0:05:41.440 I mean I think a lot of times too, maybe 0:05:41.480 --> 0:05:44.120 up until recently, it's always seemed like this thing that's 0:05:44.160 --> 0:05:46.280 just really way off in the distance, right, Like guess 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:49.000 basically not something that we're ever truly going to get to. Uh, 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:51.400 definitely not something we should worry about in our younger years. 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:53.200 But in this case, we have seen some of the 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:55.279 impacts of climate change in our lives, yeah, for sure. 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:57.960 And so then we begin to ask ourselves questions about 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:01.520 how we can respond. Can writing bikes more or eating 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:04.119 less meat? Like those are two things that people quickly 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:06.880 point to as ways that's you as an individual can 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:09.479 combat climate change, but how is that really affecting things 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:11.320 on a global level? Is that going to prevent the 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:14.880 next disastrous hurricane? Right? Um? You know that one act alone, 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:17.040 it can seem doesn't really do all that much, and 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:21.240 that is true. But the aggregation of a lot of folks, 0:06:21.360 --> 0:06:24.760 of all of us taking small actions, um, and taking 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:26.800 consistent action, it does go a long way. It makes 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.599 a real difference. And I think the social security system 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:31.680 can feel a lot like that, right. It feels like 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:33.800 something that we have no control over. We see the 0:06:33.839 --> 0:06:36.240 headlines and we're like, wait, is there actually gonna be 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:38.880 any money left for me once I reach retirement age? 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:41.479 Or is this system going to be exhausted? And and 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:43.479 I will have paid into this thing and you've gotten 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.120 nothing in return. I think with that recent news about 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:50.600 the Social Security Trust Fund shortfalls happening even sooner than expected, um, 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:53.760 it can feel like younger folks are unlikely to see much, 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.000 if anything, um. And some people have like written it 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:58.719 off all together. But yeah, you know, you and I, Matt, 0:06:58.760 --> 0:07:00.680 we don't think that's the case. And we will try 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.360 to give an accurate picture of what's happening with scal 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.720 security and how much stock you should put in it 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:08.680 for your future in this episode. That's right. Yeah, So 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:11.440 let's talk first about why that shortfall is happening. You 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:13.280 mentioned that there have been a lot of stories on 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:17.120 social security recently, and so as you know, our listeners 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:20.560 likely know social Security tax. It's withheld from every paycheck 0:07:20.600 --> 0:07:24.080 that you receive. Uh. And when millions of folks lost 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:26.679 their jobs early in the pandemic last year, far fewer 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:29.760 folks they were paying into the Social Security system. And 0:07:29.800 --> 0:07:33.880 so when there's fewer workers paying in the than previously assumed, 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:35.680 and that money was still being paid out to the 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:39.000 current retirees, that's what leads to a shortfall. And so 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:43.240 the Social Security Trustees released their annual report at the 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.000 end of last month, and they warned that social security 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:48.760 reserves we're going to run out of money one year 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:50.960 earlier than expected. So that's going to happen now in 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:55.160 three is the forecast. We'll dive more into the details 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.680 later on, but generally speaking, that's what's going on here, uh. 0:07:57.680 --> 0:07:59.800 And that's a part of why we wanted to tackle 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:03.160 this topic of social security, especially since it's not one 0:08:03.160 --> 0:08:05.440 that we've covered yet here on the show. In depth. Uh, 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:07.720 And so for our listeners, like, the question we want 0:08:07.720 --> 0:08:10.680 to answer is, you know, is this something that we 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:12.840 should be worried about? You know, given that new report, 0:08:13.040 --> 0:08:15.680 can we count all social Security still being there by 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.120 the time we are looking to retire. That's what we're 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.200 gonna talk about today. So let's go ahead and dive in. Yeah. Well, 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:22.880 first man, I think we do need to get to 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:26.000 the history of social Security, why it was created, when 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.080 it was created, and kind of the purpose behind it, 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.280 because I think sometimes even just kind of the perception 0:08:30.600 --> 0:08:34.960 about what social security should be for individuals has morphed 0:08:35.000 --> 0:08:37.160 over time, and we kind of expect it to be 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:40.720 this and I'll be all retirement account for everyone that 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:42.680 provides for most of their needs. But that wasn't the 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:46.280 goal early on when social Security was created. It wasn't 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.960 intended to fund a person's retirement completely. And in fact, 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:53.400 the average American didn't live long enough to reach retirement age. 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:57.240 Lifespans have dramatically lengthened over the past hundred years. We 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:59.480 went from an average lifespan of fifty three to an 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:03.360 average of seventy eight years old over one hundred years. Yeah, 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:06.640 that's it's I mean, it's hard to have them significant, right. 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.199 It really is the the original intent of the program. 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:12.480 It wasn't to make sure that you were able to 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:14.800 continue to live life like you had when you were working. 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:17.920 It was more akin to an insurance policy, making sure 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:20.480 that you weren't destitute if you did end up living 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:23.240 an abnormally long life. And I think this context is 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:26.040 important so we can have a proper view of what 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:28.959 the social security system is meant to do. It was 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:31.160 never meant to allow us to retire in style for 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.000 we like thirty years at the beach, uh in order 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:37.240 to you know, live a swell life for decades on 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:41.240 end um. It really really was meant to provide for 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:44.840 you for a few years if you did outlive the 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.440 median age. And I just think that's helpful contexts, you know, 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:50.680 as we get into talking about social security in this episode, Yeah, 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.640 if they you mentioned if you were to ever have 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:56.640 lived in the normally long life, and so when the 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:58.800 life expectancy is fifty three, I guess if you live 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:01.400 to be like fifty eight, Like it's like, well I've 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:04.280 got an old time where over here. But let's keep 0:10:04.280 --> 0:10:06.760 talking about the history, you know, Like they're there truly 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:09.480 were a lot of changes happening rapidly in the early 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:14.040 nineteen hundreds that were impacting the way that we viewed retirements, employments, 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.200 and government involvement in both of those as well, and 0:10:17.280 --> 0:10:20.320 so like. At that time, the prevailing thought was that 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:23.320 retirement was similar to kind of like a three legged stool. 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:26.800 Pensions they were at the heart of this. Basically, employees 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:30.160 were guaranteed a percentage of their paycheck if they stayed 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:32.280 with the company for you know, a number of years, 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:35.280 for decades, even personal savings that was another leg of 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:38.000 that retirement stool, and then social security that was that 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:41.160 third leg. Uh, and it has been an important leg, 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:44.480 you know, to to ensure that retirees, especially once who 0:10:44.480 --> 0:10:47.600 were able to save very little, or who who didn't 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:50.679 work for employers that offered pensions and made sure that 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:53.160 they had at least something to live on once they 0:10:53.360 --> 0:10:56.360 finished working. Yeah, so social security has been just this 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.720 really important part of our country social safety now. But 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:03.880 the traditional approach to retirement, Matt, that you just mentioned, 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.760 that three legged stool approach, it's just not really relevant 0:11:06.880 --> 0:11:09.520 for most people today. We don't live in under system 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:12.720 in which people can expect you know, forms of income 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:16.200 from all three of those sources. Pensions obviously, especially pensions 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:19.160 becoming more rare, right, um, it's maybe as rare as 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:22.040 like um, like a toilet paper sighting last March or 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:24.320 something like that, as rare as a an affordable to 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:28.600 one starter home today's housing marketing, exactly exactly. You know, 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:31.160 we might have a few listeners who work in the government, 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:34.000 who work as teachers, and they still have access to 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:37.720 a pension. More power to you, right, Pensions are really 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:40.520 really helpful when it comes to planning for your own retirement. 0:11:40.640 --> 0:11:43.439 It provides a whole lot more certainty. But of course 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:47.120 that's becoming rarer. That that makes that social security money 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.319 even more important for a whole lot of workers today. 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:51.160 And we would say at the same time, it heightens 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:53.840 the need for you to say for your own retirement 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:57.000 more effectively, to begin sooner, and to say more maybe 0:11:57.040 --> 0:12:00.440 than you previously thought, because the dynamics have shift quite 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.880 a bit, and you just can't expect that anybody else 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.199 is really going to take care of you in retirement, 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:08.839 even though we do believe social security will stick around 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:10.800 in some form or fashion. That's right, Maybe there's a 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:12.480 fourth leg to that stool as well. We we talked 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:15.440 about savings, pensions, social security, but family. I mean, think 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:19.320 about the number of multigenerational households that that used to exist, 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:22.320 as as older parents went in to live with their 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:24.560 kids who were grown up. And that's definitely true, right, 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:25.960 But it's also not something you want to play on 0:12:26.000 --> 0:12:28.000 and just assume that your kids are gonna house you. 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.560 Expectations have changed, right, And so when the expectations are there, 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:33.360 or when that's something that has at least been talked 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.760 about them, that's totally fine. But I would say that 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:40.520 that's not typical today. It's probably as typical as pensions are, 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:42.880 to be honest, it often does come down more to 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:46.319 the individual. But before we kind of keep talking about, uh, 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:49.600 social security, let's kind of ask the question, is retirement 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:51.680 even a good goal for us to have? You know, 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:54.280 I just mentioned how the perception started to shift in 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:57.800 the early nineteen hundreds. Before then, like almost everyone worked 0:12:57.840 --> 0:12:59.880 until they died, right the the idea that you could 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.640 have years or even decades of leisure in your old 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:05.920 age was kind of reserved only for just a handful 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.440 of rich folks, the landed gentry, or something like that 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.559 right was reserved for like the biltmore or the people 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:14.120 in what was that what's that show that you used 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:17.880 to watch that? Oh downtown to Nabby Right, yeah, those 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:20.760 people you have to Yeah, the aristocracy that he's living 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:24.400 off the land exactly, and forget about fire right, Like 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:26.800 retiring in your thirties, Like, I mean, that would have 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:30.120 been considered a joke a hundred years ago. And so like, 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:34.000 we're big fans of working towards the goal of financial independence. Um. 0:13:34.120 --> 0:13:36.560 And even though we talk about it much less frequently, 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:41.200 saving and investing for retirement is certainly worthwhile goal, even 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:44.040 though it's a it's kind of a newish concept. With 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:46.600 the likelihood that you will be living into your eighties 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:50.080 or even your nineties, there's no other option. You've got 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:52.480 to save for your retirement. Uh. And so that's why 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:55.000 we're talking about this today. It's also good point out 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.200 too that like making sure that you have enough money 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:00.640 saved for retirement, that shouldn't be your soul folk gus 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.240 of of what you think is going to lead to uh, 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:07.520 happier overall life. There are obviously lots of other factors 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:09.120 that you want to keep in mind as you're trying 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:12.840 to live a happy life. Foremost among those fulfilling social 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:14.959 relationships having Oh I thought you were gonna say good beer, 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:20.320 good beer. Is it's probably like second, it's like relationships, beer, family, 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:22.640 and beer. And then money. Actually, shoot, you gotta have 0:14:22.680 --> 0:14:25.720 money in order to have decent beer. So but I'm 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:27.480 just pointing that out. This is how the money. So 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:31.240 we're we're specifically talking about how your finances can lead 0:14:31.280 --> 0:14:33.360 to you living a happy life. But don't forget that 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:34.760 there are lots of other things that you need to 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:38.280 keep in mind as well. And we're focusing mostly on 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:40.800 social security today. I think you're right, Matt, to just 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:43.920 bring up that topic of retirement in general. It's still 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:47.560 a relatively new concept. Um. It wasn't something that people 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:50.680 in the seventeen hundreds or eighteen hundreds aspired to. It 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:53.800 is something that is only a few generations old, and 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.480 so um. Yeah. But but let's keep talking about social security. 0:14:56.520 --> 0:14:58.200 Is it something you can count on or is it, 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:00.480 as some have called a pyramid scheme that you've been 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:03.200 paying into that's going to crumble potentially even in the 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:14.960 near future. We'll get two more on that right after this. Alright, 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:16.400 we're back until you know you referred to like the 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:18.280 pyramid scheme. I'm pretty sure I've referred to it as 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:21.920 a pyramid scheme before. How social Security? Oh, it's like 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.760 this mandatory pyramid scheme that we all have to pay into. 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:28.160 We're required to otherwise we get in trouble, you know, 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.000 with the Canada or something. I think, Yeah, what happens 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:34.840 if you don't? I guess that's evading taxes. But so 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:37.400 let's go ahead, get to the question, can you count 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:41.400 on Social Security being there at least in some capacity 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:43.840 when you reach retirement age? And we think that the 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:46.880 answer to that is a definitive yes. We're not worried 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:49.240 that three will come along and that the benefits will 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:52.320 be dramatically cut or that money won't be there to 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:54.920 pay the older Americans who have been paying into this 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:57.640 system for decades. But that being said, that doesn't mean 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:01.920 that Social Security will exist uh in its current form, 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:05.000 or that some hard choices aren't inevitable. We do think 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:08.040 that they're probably going to be some changes on the horizon, 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:09.600 and we'll get to those here in a second. Yeah, 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:13.400 And it's our assessment is not just because we're natural optimists. 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.240 Matt I don't even know. Are you naturally optimistic? I 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:17.080 would say you are. I would say that you are 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.200 more of an optimist. I'm definitely more of like the 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:21.600 realists for anyone to be more of an optimist than 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:24.040 I am, but I feel like, I mean, long term, 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:26.360 I'm like, everything will be fine, But that doesn't necessarily 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:28.920 mean that everything is going to on the service look good. 0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:31.880 Like my mindset is that everything's gonna be fine because 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:35.280 we will adjust regardless of what comes down the pike. 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:37.440 You know what I'm saying, Uh, not that like, oh, 0:16:37.480 --> 0:16:40.800 everything is gonna be you know, rainbows and butterfly do well. 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.040 And that's the thing. It's not. You know, when we're 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:45.520 saying that social security will exist and that will be 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:48.440 beneficial for you in retirement. This isn't just some wide 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:52.200 eyed optimism, but there are a lot of facts on 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:55.280 the ground to support, uh, the reality that social security 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:57.680 will continue to exist and what you're paying into it 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:00.880 you will get back at some future date. And let's 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.560 talk about politics for just a second. Usually we avoid 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:05.919 the subject, but when you're talking about social security, it's 0:17:05.960 --> 0:17:08.879 a necessary part of the discussion, and before you even start, 0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:11.080 it's worth mentioning we're not gonna like take a sigh 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:12.760 like say the other Like we can talk about it 0:17:12.760 --> 0:17:14.679 from a political standpoint, but we can talk about it 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:17.399 a political exactly a little bit exactly. We we really 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:19.879 believe though, that at some point there is going to 0:17:19.920 --> 0:17:22.840 be there must be enough political will and desire to 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:26.359 fix this, you know, at some point someday, like we 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.480 don't even we don't know when that's gonna be. Uh. 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.879 And you know, in politics, it turns out that politicians 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:33.719 like to kick the can down the road and they 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:36.960 like to let someone else tackle the bigger, most unpopular 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:39.640 problems that cost money. Uh. The question, though, I don't 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:42.800 think is if it's gonna happen, but when? And Yeah, 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:44.439 we talked to a front of the show Matt and 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.080 Top Tier money writer Ben Carlson about this a while 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:50.160 back on the show. They're just almost no politicians who 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:53.520 want to be responsible for ending a program as popular 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:56.679 as Social Security has been. Like, think about the grief 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:58.879 and the lack of votes that politician is going to 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.680 receive when they start to condemn Social Security or talk 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:04.720 about eliminating it or watching it phase out slowly, Right, 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:07.159 And it's a program that has become necessary for so 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:09.239 many people. So I think when you look at it 0:18:09.280 --> 0:18:13.639 from that angle, there's basically next to no chance that 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:17.200 Social Security doesn't continue to remain around and that an 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:20.439 eventual fix for the shortfalls that we're seeing doesn't come 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:23.280 to fruition at some point exactly. Yeah, regardless of what 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:25.600 side of the aisle that you're on, very few folks 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:28.080 are going to just let it implode upon itself without 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:31.320 having making without having made some sort of change, if 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.520 they're being forced to, right and right now, we're not 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:35.480 really being forced to. And that's I think that's a 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:37.840 big reason why we're not necessarily going to see uh 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.080 see it addressed in the coming years. But I don't know. 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:44.359 I bet it will be addressed by and you know, 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:46.320 part of the reason too that we believe that Social 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:48.160 Security is going to be around is it comes down 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:51.480 to the fact that this isn't a government giveaway, right 0:18:51.800 --> 0:18:55.000 we all pay into the system. I'm sure there's probably 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:57.000 a lot of how the money listeners who wish that 0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:59.359 they could opt out of Social Security and you know, 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:03.000 instead fund their own retirement more heavily with that additional 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.040 chunk that you get in your paycheck. I get it. 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:07.160 I would probably sign up for that if I could 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:10.639 as well. Actually, in ministers, like if if you're in 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:12.480 a certain religion, you can like fill out this form, 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:15.879 you can be like a conscientious social security objective exactly. Yeah. 0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:17.840 But if you were to do that, and if you 0:19:17.880 --> 0:19:20.920