Is Retirement a Right or a Privilege?

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it is a privilege since it does not cover all the people and no one can take any action if not given unless your a member and that brings us to another point.it only a right if your a legal member that means you have contributed to a certain scheme and any action can be taken if you dont receive the service.

IBRAHIM KUNDECHA 11:51PM November 17, 2009

Thank you,Charles Tobias,im Greatful,for the Privelege,of Recieving,a Music Calog,yearly forever.

Jeffrey T of OR 8:26PM June 22, 2009

To All-Please dont count on Social Security,as soon in the future,it will change somewhat,as it wasnt made to help 70 million Baby Boomers.Be Realistic,and not in Fantasy Land.

Jeffrey Tobias of OR 8:16PM June 22, 2009

Right or privilege? Actually it's both! If I have the money to retire, then I can quit working and wala, that was my right. The only way I think it could be called a privilege would be if someone (Govt) gave me the money and said I could go ahead and retire if I want to. As to how much money, well hobos use almost nothing. And then I'm sure Bill Gates will spend billions in retirement. Halfway would be fine with me :) When you work for someone you have to remember that the pay you receive must include what you think you will need to cover all your expenses when you retire. What school doen't teach you is that you need to have an advanced degree in accounting to compute how much you need your employer to pay you to cover these costs. And you can't expect a low paying job to give you what you need so you have to plan on how to move up the ladder and increase your pay so you do end up with your retirement nestegg being sufficient to cover what you expect and are planning for.

Kegler299 of TN 6:54PM May 06, 2009

I held some property in Hawaii for 20 years. I finally sold it because I found a better place to live two years ago. It is in another country so I could not exchange the equities.
Since last year Social Security has been charging me an additional $211.90 per month for Part B Medicare using something called the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) program.
I say it is a back-door capital gains tax.
Just a word to the wise. Some other suprise(s) may be out there waiting to mess with your planned income.

George Boyer of NM 6:46PM May 06, 2009

Its a right for Social Security but a privilege to have saved enough to retire !!!!

S. brown of WI 4:10PM May 06, 2009

I believe it is a right, you have to pay into it all your working life.
If it is not a right, then give all the money paid into SS back to the
individual who worked all their life paying SS out of every pay check.

Jackie Johnson of VA 3:45PM May 06, 2009

Social Security was never intended to be a retirement program; it is a supplement to whatever retirement income a person has built up separately, through savings, pension, investments, etc.
If retirement is a right, then there is a corresponding obligation for taxpayers to pay for it. What kind of income should retirees have a right to -- and how much will taxes have to be raised to pay for it?
I'd say you have a right to retire whenever you have the means to do so -- but you don't have a right to demand that others pay for your retirement.

Bernard Ury of AZ 2:50PM May 06, 2009

If you have worked your 30 or 35 yrs & paid into social security it is a right. You should be getting the pension you worked & pd. for. SS should not be paying for illigeal anything. Yes it's there for spouses & children of deceased but not illigeal immigrants. Let congress go on SS & they won't try to fix it.

No comment of ME 2:28PM May 06, 2009

the offset Social security is a huge dilemma which denies 40%of SS to those of us who paid into SS beforewe enteredpublic service & now we are denied the full SS upon retirement.
Both Houses ofcongress overwhelmingly support HR 82 & S-206 which would restore full Ss to those of us who paid into the program and now are being denied 40%. Speak to your congressmen. I'verepeatedly spokento my congressman's deputy assistant about this injustice &i have been told that Nancy Pelosi's committee is in charge of introducing those bills &she has refused to do so. Why?

george torbert of CA 1:41AM May 02, 2009