It is math, not the Riddle of the Sphinx: EIther it adds up or does not. - Edit 1
Before modification by Joel at 04/03/2013 05:10:24 AM
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There are 52 weeks in a year (composed of 12 months), not 4 weeks a month .
There are 52 weeks in a year (composed of 12 months), not 4 weeks a month .
True, but if you have a 50 year investment that compounds interest weekly you should call the Fed; they need to have the Treasury print (a LOT) more money.
View original post4% is the amount of the monthly pay that is invested, not the compound interest rate (though 4% is still better than the ROI given by Social Security).
Right, I had to guess the interest rate since you did (and still have) not state(d) it, so I used the same 4%. As good as any number if I must just pluck one from the air. Since you stated the return would be ~$1,253,000 though I assume you have at least a ballpark figure in mind, apparently somewhere between 11% and 12% annually. No, SS cannot beat that, but gambling anything that does will be there in 50 years is rolling some pretty big dice.
View original postAs for your "nobody making $7 and hour can afford to invest 4% of their money, well that is just plain ignorant. Uncle Sam is ALREADY taking 7.5%, my example uses only a little over HALF what the Fed is taking out of our hypothetical person's pocket right now. We are ignoring of course the 7.5 payed by your employer on top of your salary, that theoretically could be given to you instead.
This is a pure numbers exercise to illustrate what a lousy return Social Security gives in comparison to a real investment.
Already covered that: They are paying for necessary insurance (and if they earn $14,500/year for their entire career it is VERY necessary,) and, though I have not checked, I am pretty sure they will get every penny of it back as a refund.