Politicians and financial advisers all state to not worry about Social Security failing. That Congress will intervene and save SS. However, I am 59 and am deeply troubled that SS will not exist in “any form” for me to rely on it. I have no pension. So feel that I must save fully to ensure my retirement to age 95. Very daunting with low rates.

Washington has become so dysfunctional. I simply do not known if it remains the third rail of government that can’t be touched. . I am concerned it could be allowed to fail (not just a 25% cut as some stress as a worse case scenario).

If I could rely on the SS projections, then I could retire very soon. But without SS, I may need to work very long.

After paying into the program for 45 years, it is so sad to feel troubled, and concerned at this age, l and later ages.

Please share your latest wisdom. Yes, I am anxiously looking for comforting insight. But I also need to understand as well.

Thank you so much!

Hi. This Q & A forum is intended to answer questions about Social Security benefits, and as a retired Social Security technical expert I answer the bulk of those questions. I know that Larry full recognizes Social Security's funding problems and has recommendations for addressing those issues, but he definitely doesn't recommend taking your benefits early out of concern regarding Social Security's solvency. He believes that individual factors such as a person's health, family composition, and financial circumstances should guide their decisions with regard to when to start drawing their benefits.

You can find more about Larry's thoughts on this issue in the following column: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4224417-might-be-worse-to-take-social-s...

Best, Jerry