Think about disabilty.
Among the other things Sonny and I talked about was retirement planning.
I know that I can receive $1,500 a month on disability now.
Or I could wait for Social Security and get $800 at 62, or $1,500 at 70.
Lets do some math on that $1,500 disability!:
$1,500 a month x 12 = $18,000 a year.
Add on Food Stamps: $100 x 12 = $1,200 a year + $18,000 = $19,200 a year total.
I'd have to have invested $340,000 at 5% interest to equal a disabilty income of $19,000.
I'm not even going to mention taxation rules on disability.
But that's no all -- Medicaid kicks and the health insurance is free at a 0% deductable.
All health needs are free. I could go to the doctor to treat a cold!
Well, simply put, I can't get that period.
Insurance for me at 49 with preexisting conditions would cost $800 a month with a $5,000 deductable, and I pay 20% after the deductable is met.
In other words, $100,000 in health care would cost me $25,000.
For argument's sake, I'll use the $800 I would pay for crappy insurance. $800 x 12 = $9,600 a year.
I would have to have $192,000 a year invested at 5% to pay for crappier health insurance than Medicaide.
I should mention at this point, I can get Albuterol through the internet for $10 an inhaler. Through insurance, the pharmacist wants $80 an inhaler, so we in the United States have incredibly inflated prices on pharmaceutical goods.
$340,000 + $192,000 = $532,000
To equal the the benifits of those on disability I'd need $532,000 invested at 5%.
In other words, even when I was consulting making $140,000 a year, I never had a chance to retire early.
But I mentioned disability didn't I? How do you get that?
I know several people, one in Hawaii (ex-teacher,alcoholic), one in Sacramento (no occupation,panic attacks), that got on disability. You either get a social security lawyer or know the ropes, get a physicalogist referral, shift your assets if any, file the papers and BINGO, you've become the equivalent of a $500,000 retiree at 49. The girl in Hawaii gets free housing near the beach, and Hawaii even pays for auto insurance. Its not fair is it?
Now, a lot of people were raised not to think this way.
But who is smarter, the parents that taught their kids not to work the system and to work until their 70, or the people who are now working the system? Who had more free time to enjoy life?