AARP thinks you are a fool.

Here is how stupid the AARP thinks you are:

3. Social Security benefits are adequately funded for another 39 years.
According to the Social Security trustees, even with no changes, Social Security will still be available to pay 73 percent of benefits after 2041.

73% is not adequate. You do not 73% starve to death. The point is to prevent poverty among our retired seniors. I mean if 73% is adequate, then why have we been paying out that extra 26%, what a waste.

Or how about this:

For a worker with average income, a spouse and two small children, Social Security's survivor protection is equivalent to a life insurance policy with a face value of $374,000. For the same worker, Social Security's disability benefits are worth more than a $234,000 disability policy.

Gee that sure is alot! The average worker makes around 40K, right? So that is about $2,500 per year plus another $2,500 from your employer which you would get if they did not have to pay it for you. Imagine how much term life and disability you could buy for $5K per year. Term life goes for from $600 to $1,200 for a $400K policy. I think you could replace SS disability for about the same per year and it would be far superior to SS.

That leaves say $3k per year for retirement. At 7% returns (10% avg stock market less 3% inflation) for forty years, the retiree would have $600K. You could draw $30K per year forever form that amount That is 75% income replacement and puts SS retirement payments to shame.

I know it is more complicated than this, but the problem is that AARP thinks it's simpler.