Thesis Statement

Do we need to plan for retirement in the United States, or will Social Security cover our needs when we are retired? We need to plan for retirement because social security will not cover all our needs as an retired American in the United States. The amount that a retired American will receive will not equal to half of what was being earned. If we as Americans do not plan for retirement, we can look forward to financial hardship and stressful times. According to (“www.socialsecurity.gov“ Understanding The Benefits, 2010) Most of our beneficiaries are retirees and their families—about 36 million people. But Social Security was never meant to be the only source of income for people when they retire. Social Security replaces about 40 percent of an average wage earner’s income after retiring, and most financial advisors say retirees will need 70 percent or more of pre-retirement earnings to live comfortably. To have a comfortable retirement, Americans need much more than just Social Security. They also need private pensions, savings and investments. Social security is earned through work and even though retirement is also earned through working, the pay for retirement will be a much higher amount than social security. In this day an age you have to think household expenses, car insurance, and just survival items that are on a needed on a regular basis. The maximum amount alone that can be received from the social security administration is not enough income for the average retired American in the United States. For a worker retiring in 2010 at the full retirement age of 66, the highest monthly amount is $2,346. In December 2009, the average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker was about $1,168 ( Miller, 2010).

Planning for retirement is always a good thing. The more financial planning that you do, the better future you will have as a retiree.