Don't count on Social Security benefits for retirement!

I believe that anyone under age 40 should not be counting on Social Security benefits as part of their retirement income plan. I am sure the politicians on capital hill will either revamp or replace it with a new system but I want to side with safety. The law can be changed at any time and I believe they will do just that to greatly reduce benefits.

I look at Social Security as a bonus during retirement assuming it even exists for me. I plan on covering all of my income needs using my own assets and businesses that I will have amassed by then. If I get extra money from the government each month then I guess I will be able to do more fun stuff than I had originally planned!

This of course means that those of us who were counting on that income have to re-evaluate our plans. You most likely will have to save more and/or make cuts in your retirement plans. It is also possible to retire later or find ways to reduce your retirement expenses. You are much better off planning for $0 Social Security now as opposed to falling short when retirement rolls around. We would much rather have saved too much rather than not enough!