PrintMay 21, 2011
Boomer Barons?
A major policy debate is underway involving the burden that baby boomer retirement places on the U.S. economy. Increasingly, this discussion is suggesting that the claims of boomers on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid represent an unsustainable entitlement. The solution, according to Obama's deficit reduction committee and others, is to reduce those benefits by raising the retirement age, means testing benefits, and increasing costs and co-payments for beneficiaries.This conclusion is based on the calculation that boomers are set to withdraw more from Social Security and Medicare than they paid in. This, on the surface, is true. The average boomer couple will have paid in $450,000 by the time they retire; it is estimated that they will eventually withdraw nearly $1,000,000 in return. That sounds like a pretty good deal, but it is not.If those mandatory lifetime contributions of $450,000 had been retained and invested in a conservative balanced fund...(Read Full Article)
