Rockin’ the Labor Force – Your Stories
Reading Time: 1 MinuteLast Updated: September 6, 2016
Labor Day is a turning point for many people. We consider it the end of summer because many schools fill with students in September. Also, many fall sports begin with Labor Day weekend.
Some of you may have celebrated the holiday by beginning to think about exiting the labor force — and beginning your retirement years. Individuals born in 1950, especially, may be thinking about it because they reach their full retirement age of 66 this year. Who are they, these folks born in the year Elvis Presley had his first job — as an usher at a movie theater?
These youngsters arrived the same year as several “firsts,” the comic strip Beetle Bailey debuted, the first laugh track was used on television, and the first 500-mile NASCAR race, the Southern 500, was run at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. More of them were named James, Robert and John, or Linda, Mary and Patricia than any other names chosen that year.
After completing school, the men may have earned the 1968 median wage of $7,700, and the women might have brought in $4,500. They likely paid about $130 each month for rent. Other costs, such as gas, averaged 34 cents per gallon, and going to see a movie would have cost them $1.50.
What transition did Labor Day bring to your life this year? Social Security is with you through life’s journey, and its transitions. If you are thinking about retiring soon, visit www.socialsecurity.gov to get started.
Did you find this Information helpful?
Tags: retirement benefits, Social Security benefits
See CommentsAbout the Author
Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Comments
Comments are closed.
oliver b.
oliverburnett865@gmail.com
tammy
Lets see, Rocking the labor force – our stories, well… my “labor force” story never started. I am 45 years old, a mother of three older children and physically disabled ( I was born with cerebral palsy ). I’ve never collected one red cent of money from the Socialist Security System, even though I have applied several times and they find me disabled.
Technically, I am an “adult disabled child” (please look this up, it is NOT SSI or SSDI) but have never been able to secure any benefits whatsoever from the Socialist Security system, even under that program because I got married to an “Able bodied person”. The Socialist Security system is too busy paying benefits to some people who scam the system and worrying about adult disabled children (who they pay benefits to off of a parents record) marrying an able bodied person. This gives them the justification to cut off benefits to the adult disabled child because the husband (in theory) can now support the disabled person. This theory works great, if your husband is rich and you have no need for money but what it actually does, is to force two adults (one disabled one able bodied person) to live off of one income. In the real world, the socialist security system is forcing adult disabled children to only marry other disabled persons (and NO able bodied persons) at the threat of loosing any and all benefits that they are entitled to.
If you are a physically disabled person (an adult disabled child) and you happen to marry an “able bodied person” you will be loosing out on a lifetime of benefits, all because of a one word “rule” that prohibits you from marrying an “able bodied person”. Best of all, they never tell you about their “Rule” so that they can justify cutting off any benefits that you may be due.
Because you are physically disabled (adult disabled child) and you choose not to marry another adult disabled child or disabled person drawing off socialist security, you WILL LOOSE ANY AND ALL BENEFITS FOR LIFE. This means that the SOCIALIST SECURITY system is TELLING YOU WHO YOU ARE ALLOWED TO MARRY and who you are
NOT ALLOWED TO MARRY! It is a discriminatory act “rule” and should be ILLEGAL!
Even though I am permanently and totally disabled, if I marry an “able bodied person”, somehow that marriage makes everything ok and I am no longer considered disabled (in the eyes of the socialist security system). Magically (because I married an able bodied person), the pixie fairies come down and cure my disability, because now I can just go out and find gainful employment, no one will discriminate against my physical disability and everything will be grand, right? Somehow magically, marrying an able bodied person makes my physical disablility dissappear and now I am cured, right? WRONG!
The issue is a special “Rule” that the Socialist Security System uses to discriminate against “certain” people. If you are a “physically disabled person” (AKA-certain people) and happen to marry an able bodied person, then the SOCIALIST SECURITY system will use special “Rules” to legally discriminate against you and deny you benefits, even if you appeal online.
The SOCIALIST SECURITY system has caused me a lot of economic hardship all because I married an able bodied person. The SOCIALIST SECURITY system thinks someone who is physically disabled (permanently and totally disabled) marries an “able bodied person”, that somehow magically they are cured of their physical disability and two people can survive off the able bodied persons income. WOW, talk about a bunch of bureaucratic idiotic thinking, that somehow this would not cause a financial hardship….. amazing.
The rules that the Social Security Administration uses to legally discriminate against persons who are “Adult Disabled Children” who happen to marry an able bodied person, are discriminatory. This is loosely referred to as the “marriage penalty” but I call it exactly what it is, a legal form of discrimination.
I firmly believe this rule, is an act of bias, prejudice and discrimination against people who (by no fault of their own) are born disabled and happen to marry an able bodied person
Please write your Congressional Representative and tell them to end this modern day form of Legal Discrimination. In this day of fairness and equality, there are still some people suffering from an outdated and oppressive bureaucratic rule.
(PS. notice how the only thing any of these SOCIALIST SECURITY workers ever say are quotes of the rules or processes, like a worker drone. They are unable to address any topics that fall outside of their rule books). Typical bureaucracy and bureaucratic responses, like trying to argue over lost change with a vending machine!
tony
City, County, and State employees got a COLA raise for 2016. The Federal employees got a pay increase for 2016. Social Security beneficiaries got nothing. Why does the cost of living for everyone go up, but the cost of living for people on Social Security doesn’t go up?
tony
The only time Social Security beneficiaries never got a COLA raise was with the Obama Administration. Three years during Obama’s presidency we didn’t get a COLA raise. Now we are heading for the fourth one during his presidency.
Hillary Clinton will probably screw us over like the Obama Administration. She will reform Social Security like her husband did with welfare. Bill Clinton limited welfare to 7 years and screwed over his Democrat constituents. He screwed over the poor people.
The Democrats controlled both House and Senate and passed the Affordable Care Act that didn’t cover everyone. Medicaid wasn’t expanded to all the States. Most of the poor never got Medicaid.
CIndy
One thing to do is get rid of the space program and put that money towards vets and/or social security. What good has it done anyone?
winniefridah M.
Old and vulnerable/disability people suffer most in some regions of the world, like in Zambia does not satisfy the people in need, instead only a few benefit from the security cash transfer from government,people responsible benefit most than those in need, by giving themselves allowance,its sad indeed seen people with disability struggle for their daily needs. Accommodation is the most thing affecting them most instead they are whole over the city bagging food when government is on the ground supplementing them with resources to earn living, others die from starving when their money its being received in time.
tony
During the Iran-Iraq war, Isreal supported Iran. The US supported Iraq.
Now the US is spending billions of dollars protecting Isreal from Iran and other middle east countries. The US gives Isreal billions of dollars each year.
The US can’t even give us a COLA raise.
tony
All the retirement system around the world is going broke. The redistribution of wealth to the old people is starting to backfire on everyone.
Soon, the US won’t be able to borrow money from other countries like China, Japan, Germany, etc. All the US got left to borrow from is the big oil companies. The big oil companies are making the US fight their war so they can control the oil in the region.
tony
It is crazy how the US spends millions to back the rebels to overthrow the Syrian government. The Russia military is in Syria backing the Syrian government. How the hell is the rebels supposed to overthrow the Syrian government with the Russian military there? The rebels attack the Russian military and the Russia military will wipe them out.
The US could use some of this money to give us a COLA raise instead of throwing the money away.
The rebels will fail and most of their weapons will be acquired by extremist groups who want to kill Americans.
Ruth
I was born in 1940, and started taking SS after I was laid off from a high-tech job at 62. I should have waited, I know. Anyway, I am OK since I had saved as much as I could. I can’t believe that so many people didn’t save – did you really think you could live on SS alone? I know I couldn’t, especially in an expensive northeastern state. Anyone still working, please SAVE!
tony
There use to be long lines at the Temp Agencies for daily work. You were lucky if you got a job that day. Working full-time with Temp Agency was very hard to get.
Now you have the long lines at the Social Security disability office. They don’t even have to bother about finding daily work.
The disability lawyers and ALJs say if you miss 2, 3, or 4 days from work, then there is no jobs you can do.
tony
It is missing 2, 3, or 4 days a month and not a week to be considered disabled.