Social Security nearing 75, needs facelift (AUDIO)

Social Security officially turns 75 Saturday August 14.

For 75 years, Social Security has provided a guaranteed inflation-protected retirement benefit Americans could count on. It also provides much needed assistance to spouses and children of deceased workers, and persons with disabilities. AARP South Carolina Senior Director Jane Wiley says while Social Security will remain solvent for a several more years some tweaking of the system has to be done before the program reaches its 100th anniversary.

Wiley says one of the popular tweaks being discussed is to raise the retirement age at which a persons can receive full Social Security benefits. If you were born after 1960, your retirement age is 67. Wiley surmises that bumping the retirement age to 70 would not go over well for people in their fifties who are planning to retire in the next few years. She says the option for some to take early retirement at 62 should be retained.

Wiley says an idea that is gaining steam is the option of raising the cap on wages that Social Security taxes are subject to.

Wiley says presently in South Carolina nearly a million people are receiving Social Security benefits. She points out that people should remember as they examine their respective financial situations, that Social Security was never designed to be a person’s sole or even main source of retirement income.  She says the key to securing your financial future as you move through the years toward retirement is developing a plan and sticking to it.

AUDIO: Jane Wiley-AARP South Carolina Dir. on future importance and role of Social Security 5:15

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