Fixed Income

Little Green Spacemen and Social Security

Sometimes people refuse to believe facts.
Little Green Spacemen and Social Security
Not every piece of news on Social Security is true. PeopleImages/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
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Well, if I listen to news reports or review the emails I get from many readers, I guess I'd have to conclude that Social Security is doomed. So that means it’s time to once again trot out my “little green men and Social Security” story.

This story has to do with an intriguing newspaper headline I read about 20 years ago that went like this: “More people think they‘ll see little green spacemen than a future Social Security check.” The story that ran with that headline was based on a poll of young people that asked a question something like this: “Do you believe you will have a better chance of seeing a Social Security check someday or of seeing Martians land on Earth?” And guess what? Most people answered that they figured they’d be more likely to see little green men from outer space than their promised Social Security benefits.

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]