Same-sex partners merit same benefits as hetero couples
I thoroughly appreciated the Jan. 31 article, “Maximize Social Security by planning, knowing rules.” At 34, I am quite aware that I need to be planning for retirement. It is not that I am already planning to not be working outside the home; rather, I am worried — like most other Americans — about having enough to sustain my standard of living when I am older. I have a financial adviser, I put money into a retirement plan at work, I have an IRA and I put money into my savings. I try to be smart about my money. I also encourage and help my partner be smart about her money, too. We both have good jobs, which we are grateful for in this economy. The topic of retirement and, specifi - cally, Social Security is one that makes me upset. It is again another realization that my same-sex partner of 10 years and I are not equal under the laws of New York or the United States. At six years my senior, armed with her master’s degree and an innovative mind, she makes almost double my respectable salary. It is inevitable that one of us will predecease the other; however, if she were to die fi rst, I would not be able to collect on her Social Security, like my friends and family, who are legally allowed to marry whom they love and promise to care for. My fear is that despite all of our careful planning, and years of paying into whole life insurance plans, one of us may be in a financial jam at our most sorrowed time. This is yet another reason, the state Senate needs to pass the Marriage Equality Bill.
Save, invest and buy life insurance policies like the heterosexuals do! Social Security is bankrupt any way.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I understand this is a decision that she has made, to love the one that she loves. The issue here is not the idea that she is not allowed the rights of others. The fact is, she is looking for additional rights over and above what others have. The fact is, this person has the right to do the exact same thing everyone else does, but decided not to do it, marry a person of the opposite sex. She decided to not do that, so she loses the ability to take the government handout of Social Security once the other partner passes away. I have no problem with you living the way you want to live, but don't tell me that I have to give you benefits over and above anyone else.
Bottom line is she needs to save, invest and purchase life insurance policies just like the rest of the folks. There are folks that NEVER married and plan for their retirement responsibly! It's just that personal.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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