tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180967199431703655.post6394485462355703037..comments2023-10-25T07:46:15.349-07:00Comments on School Crossing: The Intersection of Education and Society: The Teachers' Social Security Safety NetUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180967199431703655.post-89413223049957326252011-11-09T08:46:16.170-08:002011-11-09T08:46:16.170-08:00From your link, "If both men had invested the...From your link, "If both men had invested their contributions and earned 5% per year in returns, Senior could only have had $60,000 when he retired. He did very well indeed with his $172K return on a $20k investment. Junior however would have had $640k at 5% on his investment. Junior actually lost $115k in the deal."<br /><br />Problem is while the historical returns of the market are greater than 5% annually, the historical returns of the individual investor are 1%, making Social Security's 3% look like a pretty good deal. <br /><br />And that is before considering that the benefits for those who really need the safety net will likely exceed the contributions by a mile. A recent report observed that the baby boomers are the first generation to do worse than their parents.<br /><br />Many boomers are in that yawning chasm between their last unemployment check and their first Social Security check. When Social Security claculates their benefits based on the income of the last 35 years, all those empty years will pull the benefit amount down. Voila! So-called Social Security problem solved!S Goyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18373952981169252818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180967199431703655.post-64559078019547951742011-11-08T17:58:16.958-08:002011-11-08T17:58:16.958-08:00A fair look at Social Security. You are absolutel...A fair look at Social Security. You are absolutely correct that most people have not done well investing their own money. So long as Goldman et al can digitally game the market's up-ticks and down-ticks, feel free to study all you want, it's a gamble you're not likely to win. Thanks for doing your homework. For another look that compares returns for The Greatest Generation and the Boomers, see http://nogginstrain.blogspot.com/2010/11/social-security-and-boomers.htmlLindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05772836480745923519noreply@blogger.com