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May 22, 2006
Brilliant Idea of the Week?
Now here's a great idea. A man is trying to sell his future Social Security benefits on eBay.
The starting bid is $200,000.
My cousin, who's an actuary, estimates that, given the seller's loose assumptions, the present value of the future benefits is
$421,305.20 $170,409.06 (The original $421k number was the present value at age 62. Discounted to the present day brings it to $170k, which suggests that the starting bid should be lowered, but is still a nice chunk of cash).
Also, does this portend the public's desire to do an end run around the government? If Washington is unwilling to create personal accounts for Social Security, what's to prevent citizens from creating an alternative market themselves? Of course a big legal roadblock, which would make all of this irrelevant, is the fact that people don't technically own their benefits so the law might prevent them from selling the benefits to another person.
(cross-posted on the Club for Growth's blog)
Posted by Andrew Roth at May 22, 2006 10:59 AM | Print
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