Nearly Half Of All Americans Have...

[sid]

...less than $10,000 stashed away for retirement.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/42-p...ing-broke.html

[Vern Humphrey]

For them, a serious lack of planning coupled with a longer life expectancy has destroyed any retirement dreams.

You better believe it.

One of our local leftists wrote a condescending letter to the paper, telling the rest of us how to run our lives. In it he said, "I live on a fixed income."

I pointed out that his failure to plan, to scrimp and save and invest is not MY fault. And because of his failure, he doesn't pay his fair share of taxes. He got really offended at that!

[gpb]

When I was working I sometimes wondered how many people working with me, and who made similar money to me, could afford the things they bought. They bought new vehicles every couple of years. They also had boats, snowmobiles, ATVs, RVs and went on a couple of expensive vacations every year.

I typically bought a good solid used vehicle and tracked the maintenace costs. When those costs and projections started to climb, I'd buy another good solid used car. I often drove those cars for up up ten years. As far as boats, snowmobiles, ATVs, RVs, I never owned any. My idea of a vacation was staying home and doing home repairs.

I guess I know why I was able to retire a few years early, and many of the people I worked with are still working.

[Vern Humphrey]

Back in '70, there were a bunch of us taking the Infantry Officer's Advanced Course. Some of us were investing, and investment talk was common. That's when I found people who DON'T save and invest really don't like people who do.

One fellow said to me, "Sure, you'll be a millionaire when you retire, but by then a candy bar will cost a million dollars. What will you do then?"

"I'll eat my candy bar while you starve."

I wonder where that guy is now?

[Roadkingtrax]

A generation without retirement, with a generation of kids who dont work or drive. Lovely.

[dryheat]

I worked at a gov. outfit. One of the guys(this is after the pension went by-by)got a 100 grand inheritance. He bet(well, invested)on the stock market during the dot.com thing and lost nearly all of it. He was so stressed he started to stutter. On the other hand, there was a married couple who made $70 grand between them(twenty yrs ago) and,what with vacations and toys for their kids declared bankruptcy twice! I remember the guy suggested to some of us we should all go in together and purchase a plane. Me; I accompanied my dad on trips to the bank, where he put money away every month. I'm not rich. I should be, but I'm way too lazy for that.

[togor]

One consequence of a consumer economy is that the consumers are by design ever on the edge of being tapped out.

[JB White]

How many here have had the rug yanked out from beneath them by marrying the wrong person? You can plan all you want until someone in the right legal position decides they want it all for themselves.

[steelap]

Why should you save for retirement? Isn't the government supposed to take care of you after you retire?

[free1954]

How many here have had the rug yanked out from beneath them by marrying the wrong person? You can plan all you want until someone in the right legal position decides they want it all for themselves.

yep, seen that happen far too often. and then there are those of us who never thought we would live long enough to retire.

[bruce]

It is easy to criticize other people who do whatever it is you don't think best. Some will opine that real estate is the way to go. Some will toot the horn of gold/silver. Some will say the market. In the end, retirement for many today is based on the labor of our children/grandchildren ... Soc.Sec. combined with savings, income streams from whatever. A few will enter retirement entirely self-supporting. Most ... no. Lot of us have been fortunate to be born in an era when the US was a dominate economy. Now other nations out produce us at cheaper wages, so the future of the US as a dominate economy is less bright. For some retiring today, that will mean less of everything down the road. It is just the way it is. Do not doubt there are lots of folks w/ less than 10K facing retirement. There are lots of folks facing retirement w/ their health in the trash can simply b/c they have never been able to afford to go to a doctor for anything beyond an extreme emergency. They must deal with health issues that would have been easily handled/managed but which now will be far more expensive with far more extreme consequences. At one time SS benefits were not taxed. Now, they are. At some point SSI tax will no longer be applied to only wages, tips, salary but to all income. That is as it should be. There is no reason for only wages, tip, salary employees to be paying into the system. In the future, the need will increase b/c more of us will be retiring ... and the younger people simply cannot be expected to pay for us to live like we think we deserve. We will all end up having to pay in more. Understandable. For generations the US has lived a party life borrowing to finance fed. debt expecting subsequent generations to pay the bill. Now the bill is coming due. The glass ceiling on SS money will break. It will be applied to other sources of income. That will be reality as our children and grandchildren refuse to pay for our bills. I don't blame them. Why should they be expected to cover our expenses b/c we lived longer than was expected when retirement ... SS, etc. was a novel idea for everyday Americans? JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.

[steelap]

Bruce,

The government already steals enough of my money - don't give them more ideas.

[Dick Hosmer]

You know, I probably wouldn't object to the broadening of SSI witholding, or raising the rates on huge earners - which would, in the end, be a good thing for reluctant savers, with the caveat that the money be ABSOLUTELY (as it was supposed to have been) safe from being plundered into the general fund.

[bruce]

Re: SS. From time to time I have been known to drink a bit to much coffee while at my desk/keyboard writing this or that. A while ago, I bumped off my less than gathered thoughts about savings, etc. Intended no knock at anyone who has planned/prepared. Took my Boy Scout training, i.e., "Be Prepared" seriously. Even on a small church pastor's salary, have been able to save sufficiently that my wife can face the future with confidence. Have advised wise planning for any and all since I first learned a bit about how to handle money. What Jesus said shaped how I look at money... faithful in little ... you'll be faithful in much, i.e., if you can learn to handle a little bit of money when all you have is a little bit, when you get more money you'll be able to handle it at least as well.

SS money was not and never has been put into a lock box. Doing that would never have produced anything more than merely what was put in. The once +100 earners for each dependent is now due to our declining birthrate no where near the level needed for SS to continue as is w/o the payment ceiling being broken. It will happen. It is simply beyond conscience to expect that young people will pay for us to enjoy ourselves in retirement. They already have to pay for our healthcare. That stuff will not last. There are a lot of baby boomers. But, there are far far more millennial's. They far far outnumber us. They'll just out vote us and on SS, etc. Can't really argue with them. They probably feel no obligation to geriatrics ... they've got enough problems on their hands with their own rising healtcare cost, less than robust economy, less than encouraging employment opportunities either near or long term. JMHO. Sincerely. bruce.

[Gary and Karen]

How drastically things have changed! When I was a kid Dad worked, Mom was a stay-at-home Mom. These days it takes 2 incomes just to survive. Saving for the future is a difficult, if not impossible, goal.
And last year's COLA for SS netted me a whopping $1. AND my insurance for my Medicare supplement and my dental, vision coverage went up about 5% so I am going backwards. My biggest hope is that what little savings I have will be enough to sustain me until I die. It's either that or get a job and I really don't want to do that.