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I think a lot of us babyboomers have been worried about whether or not there would be any Social Security left for us when we hit retirement age.  Well, in the July/August issue of AARP, Liz Weston dispels a lot of those fears.

According to Ms. Weston, although Social Security’s finances need “some work”, the remedies are not drastic and several proposals have been forwarded.  If these proposals are combined and put into place, the program will be  back on financially,  firm ground. 

Many of us have felt that Social Security’s assets are not worth anything but according to Weston, we haven’t done our homework.  Apparently, if we look a little closer we will find that any surplus payroll taxes are used to purchase special-issue, interest paying Treasury bonds and are totally guaranteed and backed by the federal government, just as they are for other Treasury bondholders. The Treasury is scheduled to pay back these bonds shortly.  

Ms. Weston states in her article that even if there were no changes made to Social Security it could continue to pay full benefits through 2037.  

If Weston is correct, and she has been writing about Social Security for at least twenty years, we are in better shape than I thought.  Of course, I hope  proposals are put into action to ensure a more financially secure retirement for future generations.  But, it is good to hear something other than the typical doomsday scenarios presented to us on a daily basis.

Anytime I come across any updates regarding our Social Security benefits, I’ll let you know.  But, maybe, just maybe, we are a little better off than we thought.