The Baby Boomers Turn 65

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I'm 64 years old and retired last year due to neck and shoulder problems.I served my country during the Veitnam Conflick 1965-1968.i worked hard my whole life as many people have.I think our government should give back all the millions they took from social security years ago.they can bail out everyone else,why not social security.

Charles Sullenbarger of FL 8:48AM January 04, 2011

Just wait until the reality sinks in to everyone that the so-called Social Security "Trust" Fundset up to get us throught the Baby-Boomer crunch is in reality only a stack of IOUs that must be redeemed by raising taxes or incurring more debt. This liability now exceeds $2 trillion and is considered "off-budget,"so it is not included in official debt figure. Your government at work, folks! Both parties are involved in this scam.

Chase of VA 1:51PM January 03, 2011

My mother paid very little into social security when she retired in about 1980 and she got a benefit that she could completely live on and still save. Social security was not supposed to be a retirement plan, but it was supposed to provide 30% of one's needs. In order to get reelected the politicians used it as a gift shop and now we're in trouble. Medicare is deep in trouble and people need to pay more for it! I'm retired for and went on social security at age 67, and I too get a check that I can live on with an RN wife who works part time. When she goes on social security in a couple of years, we will be able to live on it. The people who pissed away everything they ever had are the ones in trouble, and it's unfair for taxpayers to pay for them now! The spineless politicians need to be warning people that the money's not there and they better start saving or starve when they get old!

Grant Thomas of WI 1:30PM January 03, 2011

With the 78 million baby boomers in the process of retireing, we are an extremely large voting block! Why are we letting the elected government mess with the social security we have paid in to for about 40 years? Vote out the people who are trying to balance the budget by reducing our benefits that we paid for.

Booth Marchbanks of DE 2:31PM January 02, 2011

Phillipines sounds nice. You need a good condo that comes with a guard!
I'm staying put in the good old USA!!!

rasha of MO 9:08AM December 31, 2010

I spent 5 years moving from one country to another checking out the livability and cost of living. What drove my decision was not so much what I would settle for, in America, but the life I wanted to live.
I have always lived on the ocean, and I wanted that to be part of my latter years. I didn't want to see everything, I had, wiped out by doctors visits and pharmaceuticals. When I looked at the cost of food, I saw it as a sliding scale. If I live on the ocean, I will eat fish and in a warm climate I will eat fresh tuna. If you live more like a local, food is very cheap. If you want imported foods, from America, it can cost more than America. Gas is more expensive but public transportation is easy to access.
So after 5 years I decided to go to the Philippines. They have the only social security office that is not on U.S. soil. Most of the people here speak English; they teach in English at the university level. Medical is very cheap and most doctors are trained in Europe, Australia or America. You can find whatever food you want and the Filipinos like Americans. The legal system is not twisted, to the point that almost everything is illegal, like America. With 7200 island you can find plenty of beach property. You can rent cheaper than a mortgage and move if the area is not what you want or changes. You can also buy a condo for as little as $40,000 with guard. You can get a maid for about $75 a month and a driver for your car is about the same.
I wrote a book about my travels and keep an active blog about daily life. Called 12 Things I Learned While Trying to Retiring in Asia. There are plenty of Expats here and even VFW posts. It is as close to what your used to without the junk mail.

Jerry Ridge of CA 10:37PM December 30, 2010

currently it costs about 5% of gdp and at the peak of the demographic boom the cost will rise to about 6% of gdp before going down, per the CBO. It is somewhat over generous and either a small benefit cut or tax increase or combination will be needed to make it actuarily sound.
Some people like to beat up on SS or whine about it, but it is a successful and important progam , has been for 75 years and people should wise up and fight to make sure it stays sound for the next 75 years.

khdsfs of TX 9:21AM December 27, 2010

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ssad of TX 9:15AM December 27, 2010

Keep it simple, go to good credit unions, reduce debt, realize that glossy advertising and fancy presentations are lures to snag you. Never buy what you don't understand. Have fun, no one gets out alive.

Jimbo of MN 10:35AM December 25, 2010

The oldest of the boomers are signing up for social security and medicare. what is truly unfortunate is they are jumping on a bandwagon that is going to be completely bankrupt in less than 10 years and for those of boomers that are in the middle years or at the end we will never see any payments coming our way. It is truly the greatest scam ever perpetrated on a society. My qualification age has been moved out 3 times and now my annual reports show that I will only qualify at at 70 1/2 for full benefits but in the fine print it states that because of the current financial crisis I will only be allowed to receive 70% of that amount. I can assure that by the time I am 70 (16 years from now) it won't even be that amount. The politicians and especially Obama have continued to spin and lie telling us this is going to be around. We should now have the option to pull out altogether and expand our own pensions so that we have our own financial security set up and ready for us when we decide to retire.

Cary Languirand of ID 4:45AM December 25, 2010