Trump May Let Workers Take Social Security Benefits Early

Trump May Let Workers Take Social Security Benefits Early.

That’s the idea being floated by the White House.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that members of this administration look for ideas to boost the economy (The Stock Market) Everyday.

This has been going on for years now. Usually, it was a tweet about “China trade optimism.”

Now all the ideas are about free money. Stimulus checks. The Fed giving loans. The Fed buying ETF’s.

It never ends

Of course, giving Seniors access to Social Security helps because older Americans are getting killed by low interest rates, championed by the President and implemented by the Federal Reserve. And older Americans vote. And this is an election year.

Today’s Idea: The Trump administration is said to be considering prepaying Social Security retirement benefits to workers before they are eligible, according to The Washington Post. Generally, workers have to be at least 62 and have worked and paid into the system for at least 10 years in order to collect benefits.

One proposal the White House is reportedly considering calls for letting Americans take up to $5,000 from Social Security now in exchange for delaying their benefits in the future.

The $5,000 would be structured as a loan with a government-set interest rate that would reimburse the Social Security trust fund with interest.

Individuals who opt into the program would pay that money back when they start collecting Social Security benefits. Their first checks would go toward repaying the loan, for a period of up to three months. After that, they would receive normal benefits.

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In a statement, Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, slammed the proposal.

“Asking working Americans to give up even one dime of their future Social Security benefits to survive today’s economic crisis is a harebrained idea that would hurt families for decades to come,” Fiesta said.

This is where we are as a country because we have so little financial education about things like emergency funds.

I guess in a world with a deadly virus it is redundant to speak about why you need an emergency fund.

The one thing I’ve noticed from the heartbreaking coverage of the lines of cars at food banks is how so many of them are new cars. These are people who had access to money and wasted it.

They have no savings. They expected good times to continue. They were naive. And now they are desperate.

How big should your emergency fund be?

The more stable your income and household are, the less you need in your emergency fund.

If you’re part of a two-income household or you’ve had a steady job for several years, then a three-month emergency fund is probably just fine.

But if you’re a one-income family, you’re self-employed, or you earn straight commission, then a six-month emergency fund is probably a better idea for you since a job loss could make you unable to pay the bills.

How to Quickly Build an Emergency Fund

One of the easiest ways to beef up your emergency fund is to sell some stuff!

Go take a look in your garage or dig through your closet—is there anything you could part with? Selling some items that are collecting dust can add up to major cash in your emergency savings. And every little bit helps! You’d be surprised at how quickly $5 here or $10 there can add up.

An emergency fund is vital. It’s vital because emergencies happen.

People get sick, lose a job, car accidents happen, tornadoes, hurricanes, riots, fires, earthquakes all happen as well.

As an adult, we prepare just in case something like this happens to us. Because they will.