Therefore, there were few people around long enough to actually draw Social Security benefits. Recently, however, with the retirement of the baby boomers, there will be a huge rise in the number of people who are ready to draw Social Security. The already used up funds will drop further into the negative areas as there is an increasing number of Social Security users. Also, there is an increased cost of living today, and the expensive lifestyle that most Americans are accustomed to living is something that the Social Security System is unable to adjust to. As a result, over time, the system will not receive enough revenues, or be able to give out enough money to support its recipients, unless dire changes are made to the Social Security System soon. Although the current Social Security System is under pressure, there are a number of changes that can be made to save this deteriorating form of assistance for the American people. Personal Security Accounts are one such alternative, making a minor change to the set up of the Social Security system. Under this plan, the 6.2 percent share of the Social Security tax that is taken out of ones pay check would shrink to a mere 1.2 percent. The difference between the two numbers, five percent, would then be at the recipient's own disposal, as they would have to invest this money in certain Personal Security Accounts. These accounts could be opened in banks, brokerages, or put into mutual funds. At the age of sixty-two, one would be able to withdraw their account tax free, making this a very helpful solution to the American people. Also, to lessen the concern that people with little or no experience in the markets would make bad investments, investors would be restricted to a limited array of stocks and bond funds. Some of those would be index funds, or an array of stocks or bonds that hold shares that shows what is going on in the overall market.
