Golden years do come with some perks

I was sitting in a barber’s chair the other day, near the cash register, when a customer came up to pay.

“Next time I’ll get the senior discount,'” he enthused, happy to be able to save $3. “I can’t wait til Nov. 4. I’ll get the senior discount.”

I hated to burst his bubble but I couldn’t stop myself.

“Don't be in a hurry,” I said. “It’s not that great.”

“What?” he said. “Social Security, Medicare, discounts ...”

“And old age,” I said.

Well, I shouldn’t have been such a grouch, especially toward someone who appreciated the benefits of one of the most popular and most efficient government programs ever devised.

Social Security turned 81 this week, signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt on Aug. 14, 1935.

It became the first government pension program and in time improved the lives of millions of elderly Americans.

According to the congressional Joint Economic Committee, Social Security reduced elderly poverty from 50 percent to 10 percent today. Without it, the group said, elderly poverty today would be about 41.5 percent.

My wife and I have been drawing on Social Security for several years and look forward to the third Wednesday of the month when our bank accounts are replenished.

Actually, the fact that I look forward to the third Wednesday is a bit surprising to me.

We both earned good salaries during our careers and saved a fair amount.

Yet, without Social Security our lives would be different. Golf every week? Maybe not. Vacations in Mexico or Europe? No way.

Yes, I’m a believer. Some 60 million Americans receive Social Security today, not as a handout but as a return on an investment we began making decades ago.

In my case, I began paying into Social Security when I was 16, working in a canning factory in my hometown. (My first check paid for a top-of-the-line Harvey Kuenn baseball glove, but I digress.)

It was difficult, in those early years, to see so much going to something called FICA. I wasn’t worried about growing old and if I did, I certainly wouldn’t need Social Security. I’m a professional.

Yeah, right.

As for Medicare, I don't know entirely how it works – my wife, the pharmacist, is my go-to expert – but I know how little I paid while I was hospitalized for a month.

Good health insurance, backed up by Medicare, took care of most of the bills.

So I suppose my friend was right. The golden years do come with some perks.

This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Golden years do come with some perks."