Social Security offers safety net over riskier S&P 500 returns
Updated
Updated · MarketWatch · Apr 30
Social Security offers safety net over riskier S&P 500 returns
12 articles · Updated · MarketWatch · Apr 30
Answering a 64-year-old reader, the columnist said hypothetical stock investing could have produced $3.7 million to $4 million and about $30,000 a month, but with far greater risk.
He said Social Security funds are invested mainly in special US Treasury securities through the OASI and disability trust funds, prioritising guaranteed support over higher but volatile market gains.
The column said Social Security, created in 1935 after the Great Depression, faces funding strain, with the OASI fund projected to be unable to pay full benefits from 2033, while disability insurance is funded until 2099.
Should Social Security act like a pension fund, investing in stocks to boost returns and avoid future cuts?
If you could invest your Social Security taxes, would you risk it in the market for a chance at millions?
With a 23% benefit cut looming by 2032, which proposed reform offers the best chance of saving the system?