University

Most of us work all of our lives to try and secure a comfortable retirement. About 26% of us will not live long enough to collect social security. Almost everyone who works today pays into social security . There are some exceptions such as public school teachers, railroad employees and social security employees who have elected out years ago. The cost of social security is 6.2% of your pay up to $87,000.00 If you are self employed, the cost is 12.4% since you pay both the salary reduction as well as the employer match. The Medicare portion of social security is 1.45% of all of your income, without any limits. The self employed pay 2.9% for both payments. Total cost of social security in payroll taxes is 15.3% for all income up to $87,000.00.

If you make $87,000.00 this year your social

security taxes will be $13,311. You'll pay it all if you are self employed and half if you are an employee.

At retirement, the average American will receive between $800.00 and $1,000.00 per month. This system is designed to be a "supplemental retirement" and not a pension plan.

The system is not equal because our glorious politicians have a different "social security" system. Our Senators and Congressmen do not pay into social security. The don't pay into any system, their cost for a retirement plan is, unbelievably, zero, zip, zilch, nothing.........When they retire, they receive exactly what they were making when they were working. Just recently a raise was granted to the Senators and Congressmen. They receive an average retirement benefit of $15,000 per month. If they happen to predecease their spouse, the spouse receives the same benefit until they die. They are vested in that benefit if they serve just one term in office. They do not need 10 years or 40 quarters of coverage to qualify as we all do for social security.

Why is this? It is because they vote for their own compensation

packages. What an absolute joke and insult to the American people. Keep this in mind we pay for this! Our tax dollars hard at work. Voice your opinion to have the system changed so that a board of uninterested parties decides the compensation package for our elected officials.