Fixed Income

Forbes Column Full of Holes

A recent edition of Forbes Magazine included an article called “Seven Ways Social Security Benefits are Unfair.
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Forbes Column Full of Holes
Forbes's article stated various ways that Social Security payouts are supposedly actuarially indefensible and unjust. Sadly, many of them were not well thought out. DennisF/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
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A recent edition of Forbes Magazine included an article called “Seven Ways Social Security Benefits are Unfair.” It went on to list various ways that Social Security payouts are supposedly actuarially indefensible and unjust. Sadly, many of them were not well thought out. In today’s column, I have enough space to cover only a few.

Forbes’s Allegation: The Second Theft

Harry has earned a $3,000 monthly benefit. His wife, Wanda, raised kids and then joined the workforce. Wanda’s contributions should earn her a $1,400 benefit. But she is not permitted to collect.

What stops Wanda from getting anything back for the money she put in? A spousal benefit, set at 50 percent of whatever Harry has earned for himself. That, and a rule saying that Wanda can get either her spousal share or her own earned benefit, but not both.

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Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]