Social Security and Baby Boomers

Aging Baby Boomers -- can America pay for their retirement? Social Security Administration officials are now reporting that as Baby Boomers leave the work force, America is facing the lowest ratio of persons working per retiree in the history of the program. Boomers, like much of the current working American population, have paid into Social Security for most, if not all, of their working lives. This being the case, what’s all the fuss about? Is there a crisis concerning the retirement of Baby Boomers? When I have discussed this topic among friends, the general consensus is that the Social Security System is going to fail. I must admit that the prospect of having paid into a retirement fund my entire life and never being able to draw from it angers me. Is this crisis real or just a figment of our collective imaginations?
The reality of a failing Social Security system depends on which governmental agency or media personality to which you listen. There is no consensus on just how large or small an issue it is. According to testimony from Michael Tanner (Director of Health and Welfare Studies, Cato Institute) before a Senate Special Committee On Aging, there is great need for concern. The Social Security System's Board of Trustees reported that the retirement system will be insolvent by 2029, down from 2030 in last year's report. This represents the eighth time in the last 10 years that insolvency date has been brought forward. Mr. Tanner recommended that Social Security be privatized due to the reckless manner in which the fund has been handled. Under the current plan, workers will receive far below market return on their contributions, giving credibility to the argument for privatization. Other factors he listed as weighing against the current system were that “Life expectancy is increasing, while birth rates are declining. As recently as 1950, there were 16 workers for every Social Security beneficiary. Today there are only 3.3. By 2030, there