Why I'm Not Counting on Social Security, and Neither Should You

Millions of Americans rely on Social Security to cover a big portion of their retirements. The program has been paying benefits since 1937, and Congress has repeatedly patched Social Security since its launch to keep it solvent. Despite that history and the fixes that have been deployed over time, Social Security is rapidly heading toward another funding crisis. According to the program's trustees, the Social Security trust funds are expected to run out of money by 2035, which could slash benefits by about 25%.

Although it is likely that Congress will once again patch Social Security, there are a few structural reasons why this time, it really does appear to be different. Because of those differences, I'm not counting on Social Security to deliver for me when I reach retirement age, and frankly, neither should you. Read on to understand the key reasons why.

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Source Fool.com