So, we were just daydreaming about our future retirement…maybe in Fiji…and we realized that under the current Social Security system, we’re more likely to find our little condo in the tundra of Fargo.

Talk about a reality check. 

So, we decided to actually do a reality check and calculate our benefit future, using the Heritage Social Security Calculator.

Here are our results:

Actual Monthly Benefit If Congress Does Nothing
(The benefit that Social Security is able to pay.)     $2,060...

Options under Reform:

Option 1: Under the Bush plan, you could use your personal retirement account to create a nest egg at retirement of $71,878, while receiving monthly benefits of $2,398. Today's Social Security doesn't give you this choice.

Option 2: You could instead choose to forgo a nest egg and take a higher monthly benefit. Using your entire account to purchase an annuity, you would receive $2,897 each month. This is $837 more than today's Social Security can pay.

Hm. Fiji with reform; Fargo without…we’ll have to think about it...

Done. We want reform!

If you’d like to calculate your retirement potential, check out the Heritage calculator here. It’s fast, easy, and will hit you like a ton of bricks.

Disclaimer: We have nothing against Fargo folks; we just prefer bathing suits to snow suits, particularly now that we're into our second week at the gym (see, New Year's resolutions can work!)