A common question for voters about Prop B is whether city employees can rejoin the Social Security system. San Diego County Taxpayers Association Vice President Chris Cate explains how this works in a brief video presentation.
Prop B: May City of San Diego employees rejoin the Social Security system?
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The “kid” is AWESOME! Well done, Chris!! Makes me proud to be a member of SDCTA.
Yes, the city employees COULD opt to go back under SS, but ask yourself this question — Would YOU?
Not me. New hires would be INSANE to go into SS instead of a matching 401k plan. Most 25 year olds (perhaps the average age of city new hires) would almost certainly opt out of SS. Based on my years of speaking to young groups (JCC students, etc.), it appears that few of today’s young people expect to receive ANY SS upon retirement.
SS is doomed. It will become a means tested program, with a retirement age that itself has to age — probably at least age 70 for today’s 25 year olds.
Unlike the city’s DB plan, there is zero guarantee attached to SS — it’s whatever the politicians SAY it is. And that assumes this Ponzi scheme survives at all.
Moreover, most city employees likely qualify for at least a minimum SS payout upon retirement — 10 years of even part-time employment usually qualifies one for the scaled down benefit. For the few dollars put in, SS pays a HUGE amount to minimum qualifiers — they sometimes can get their entire contribution back in ONE year!
As to the specious argument that the 401k might be all but worthless by the time the employee retires, the question is — How do you think the DB pension will be paid if the stock market collapses? Their answer is, of course, to dramatically raise taxes in a depression.