Divorce lawyer here and more and more of my cases involve older people (55+) with no retirement or maybe no more than $30K and they plan to spend that soon. Sad. Oh, and usually with lots of debt and the house not paid off. Calling Dave Ramsey.
Even with a very nice IRA and savings, I’m already looking for a large refrigerator’s empty box which I can live in, in a vacant lot, away from the city. After the coming train wreck and SHTF. Stop by sometime, and we’ll split a Big Mac & Fries. Heh.
I will work until I cannot. That said, it is awful hard to put away the millions they advise when you get hit from every angle with taxes and rising prices, low investment returns, all the while salaries stay basically static.
The one thing my ex father-in-law said that I agreed with was you will never get rich working for somebody else. I have just never been in a place to make that jump without enormous risk (that I cannot take with my kiddos).
I look at retirement like the false premise of home ownership. Buy a house, pay it off, but stop paying taxes and see how long you own it. The federal beast is in a catch 22. On one hand they need you to work forever and pay taxes and on the other they need you to retire and make room for other workforce acquisitions.
Thanks, sfl.
Work till you die. It is immoral for capable people not to work.
Why didn’t you link to the actual article?
This link is to something else on Real Clear Markets.
Correct link.
But thanks for the article posted, enjoyed it more than the link you provided!
Right now, today, this afternnon, or as soon as you can, should you be BEFORE retirement time or age, do this simple mathematics exercise.
If you are renting, outside of big cities, figure 3% a year MINIMUM.
If you are paying for cable connections, figure 5% a year MINIMUM.
Your light bill, for the sake of the exercise, figure 10% a year, MINIMUM.
Your telephone bill, again, for the exercise, figure 12% a year, MINIMUM.
Your auto gas bill ... the year before Obama was locally, $1.44 a gallon. It has gone up to $3.84 on the roller coaster. This is year 5, no? That’s $2.44 in 5 years, or
%0.588 a year. Remember, that is locally.
The cost of a loaf of bread, not made by the local now-shut-down Hostess bakery, has risen EQUAL to the price of auto gas! That does not count, those nice rye bread loaves, that cost $4.00 each.
Use these as indicators for the years ahead you have until you retire. Figure what your budget might be with those inflated costs, and decide if you can afford to retire, from THAT budget.
If you are buying the house, yes, you may reach the end of the mortgage, but you will never reach the ‘end’ of taxation upon that house! Don’t forget those figures, either.
Maybe the problem is that Americans expect to retire. It’s a relatively recent notion that was put forth to sell Social Security was it not?
In generations before that, when the elders were no longer able to work, their children took care of them.
Work and save all your life, retire, have a health issue, the government takes every dime of your money and throws you in a shitty nursing home on Medicare where you’ll eat tapioca pudding through a straw for your remaining days. Is that the “retirement” we are not ready for?
With retirement the feds lose tax money why would they want to help you to retire?.
Biggest and most powerful defense against personal economic disaster? The intact traditional family....Dad, mom, the kids, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Add hard work and traditional values and you have the number one threat to liberal thinkers and career politicians.
I may have to draw SS anyway. Not because I need the money, but to punish my co-workers for being young. ;-)
How many of the percentage of retired people were government workers and how many were private sector?
In the socialized 21st century, those who saved will be ripped off for the benefit of those who did not. It’s not fair, you see, that some scrimped and saved their whole lives and have more.