Sunday, December 23, 2012

More Small Stuff

I got a love letter from the Social Security Administration last week informing me that I'm gonna get a whopping 1.7% COLA in my monthly check next year.  That works out to about 17 more beers or five cigars or six gallons of gas every month.  Just pick one, but not all three... I'm thinkin' I'll opt for the beer.  I suppose 1.7% is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick or no increase at all, like last year.

It remains to be seen if USAF is gonna give me a pay raise.  I see that Congress authorized that same 1.7% pay raise for the active duty guys, but that may or may not happen for us retirees.  I find it interesting that my USAF retirement and my Social Security checks are now exactly equal when it comes to take-home pay.  That's because the gubmint takes out over $300.00 a month in various taxes from the USAF check, while the only deduction from Social Security is the $104.00 monthly Medicare premium (about which: pretty much a bargain, considering the cost of medical care these days).  Still... I find the fact both pensions are equal (net-net) slightly unsettling.

We shall not entertain negative or snarky comments about the future of either Medicare or Social Security.  My head is in the sand and there it shall stay.  So Get OFF My Lawn, mmm-kay?

And now it's time to retire to the verandah (63 degrees!) with a Sammy Adams and a ceegar, where we shall contemplate the gubmint's largesse.

6 comments:

  1. I'm with ya on the "get off my lawn" approach to Social Security, I'm getting closer and closer to being able to use it. I'd kinda like to retire on something, ya know. And I mean really retire, not what I'm doing now. We shall see!

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    1. I did exactly what you're doin' now for something like 16 years before I hung it up. I began drawing SS at 62 coz I wanted to get my money back while I COULD, LOL!

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  2. I got the same ltr, Buck (natch) Yelled to the wife: "Hey, now we can take that around-the-world-cruise we've been talking about!" LOL.

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  3. I may or may not receive a raise at work; something about being well-paid for what I do which means I'm over the top-end of my pay range. But it won't matter if there is a raise if Congress doesn't do it's fucking job and fix the cliff. I'll give up so much of my income to higher taxes that any potential raise will be lost in the morass.

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    1. It sucks to be at the top end of a pay range where raises are concerned, but there are always bonuses, right? The cliff will impact me, too... but I'm thinkin' it won't be all THAT bad. My thoughts might be different if I were still working.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.