General Discussion

SS in its initial form was supposed to provide the basics to all. Now retirees mirror the whole population, poor/middleclass/rich. Some have assets, some have little, some have a lot.

Do you go broke sooner, or later? Do you leave something behind, or not?

The real losers are those who die early in retirement, or don't make it to retirement. MA plans delay the financial pain, maybe you need the coverage, maybe not. Medigap offer the highest coverage - for early and recurrent monthly payments. Again, the more you put in, the more is available to you.

The idea Congress or SSA can even out the bumps, inequities, availability is just ludicrous. Take the system of winners and losers and make it all fair, while private insurance is after the profits, Wall Street is after SS, the government taxes you. And it will be so complex you will need to study it 9 months a year to understand what is going on.