After spending a lifetime paying into the Social Security (SS) system, over 60% of retirees depend on it for at least half of their retirement income. After funding this program, we are told that through mismanagement of funds the 3 Trillion in asset reserves for funding this program will be used up by 2034. By implementing drastic measures and cutting the payouts across the board by 23% this would extend its life until the year 2091, but doing this would put many seniors below the poverty line. Either way, this program has committed a huge breach of trust to retirees that depend up it for living or will rob current workers of their lifetime of investing into it. There are no easy answers but the problem needs to be addressed. With this in mind, each year seniors anticipate a SS payout increase to combat the ever rising costs of living.
The Social Security board of trustees relies on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers or the CPI-W to determine if they need to raise SS payouts for the next year. The good news is that last month the Social Security Board of Trustees projected that the CPI-W would gain 2.2 % in 2017 translating to a SS payout increase of 2.2% for 2018. This would be the largest increase in SS payouts in 6 years. As the average worker receives a check of $1,368/month in 2017, that would be an increase of $361 for 2018. But after the projection was made last month, Consumer Price Index for all Urban Workers (CPI-U) has lowered and this could alter the increase to about $262 for 2018. We don’t have exact numbers yet, but the good news is that there will be an increase in payouts for 2018, but it might be a good idea not to spend it until we know exactly what that increase will be.
Robert Snow Krepps, NMLS #255191, at HighTechLending Inc today to discuss how a reverse mortgage may be able to help you (877) 567 – 7476 or rkrepps@hightechlending.com .
HighTechLending Inc, NMLS # 7147, is an Equal Housing Lender. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act.