| Topic - How Secure is Social Security? | Education Center |
In a recent survey of Americans aged 18-34, 46 percent believed in the existence of extraterrestrials while only 28 percent believed Social Security would still be around when they retire. But what are the facts? Andrew Hacker, author of "Money: Who Has How Much and Why," explains it this way:
"Figuring out whether Social Security will be able to support you when you retire is a simple thing. How many workers are there per retiree? Because Social Security is taken from your check, it spends three months in Maryland, and then it goes out to your grandfather. When Social Security started, there was something like 12 workers to every retiree. We're getting dangerously close to two to one. And that's the wake up call for individual investors to plan on being responsible for their own incomes when they retire."