No Wonder Medicare is in Trouble
There’s a reason [the] current system is unsustainable, says Eugene Steuerle, a former Treasury Department official and senior fellow at Washington’s Urban Institute. He boils it down to two simple numbers.
“An average couple retiring today has paid just a little over $100,000 in Medicare taxes” over the course of their working lives, Steuerle tells Guy Raz, host of weekends on All Things Considered.
And what do they receive?
“About $300,000 in benefits” — even after adjusting for inflation.
Full article on Medicare’s lack of stability.
You mean there’s no free lunch? Gene Steuerle just ruined my day.
In my experience, most seniors think they have already paid for their free lunch.
Perhaps the Government needs to hire a financial adviser to teach them how to invest $100,000, growing it to $300,000 over a lifetime.
In my experience, seniors insist on their benefits, whether they have paid for them or not.
Taxpayers obviously cannot afford to provide every couple retiring a windfall of $200,000 — $100,000 a person. If, on average, people do not fund the cost of their Medicare over a working lifetime of contributions, the whole program will becomes unstable. This is what’s happening as Baby Boomers retire.
Actually, as a society. we’re better if we make sure the poor and the elderly have the same quality heath care as the young and the wealthy.