Posted on 02/11/2023 9:05:50 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Ugliness awaits most boomers nearing retirement, not only have they been lied to, but they also have to deal with rigged markets, corruption, and incompetent advisors. Boomers make up the second-largest generation in American history, it consists of over 72 million individuals. Those that haven't already retired are getting ready to. A big problem is most have little in the way of savings.
Adding to this problem is that the generations following the baby boomer generation are even worse off and America's economic picture is less than rosy. It does not help that Americans have been encouraged over the years to spend and incur debt rather than save. This encouragement comes from politicians hooked on the idea consumer spending creates a strong economy.
This results in many people retiring with little savings and dependent on a government already deep in debt to care for them in their older years. Those of us that have studied the numbers come to shaking our heads in horror, simply put, something has to give and most likely promises will be broken, When words like unsustainable and insolvent have been muttered they simply get brushed aside by daily life.
For years those in power have hidden and sheltered Americans from the harsh truth that the numbers simply do not work but history shows politicians would rather kick the can down the road than deal with reality. To the many people that have been looking forward to a comfortable and leisurely life in their older years. The fact that things could be worse is not something that will cause most retirees to leap with joy.
An example of what we face is evident in healthcare. this is a sector of the economy that Washington has pledged to fix and even claimed it has. The chart put out by Statista shows the U.S. has the most expensive healthcare system in the world.
You will find more infographics at Statista
This matters if you consider it as a tax on the American people and realize that healthcare is a major expense for people as they age. This hits medicare directly in the heart meaning as cost soar for the program something will have to be done. That something generally comes in the form of cutting benefits and charging recipients more.
While there is more to life than money, few people choose to live in poverty. Unfortunately, even most Americans that have saved over their lifetime and done the right thing are in peril.
Over the years, the Fed has inflated the money supply and in doing so it also inflated asset prices, including stocks, bonds, and real estate. Much of this is the result of ballooning debt. Make no mistake about it, the government has fed at the debt trough and it has made our future less promising. Yes, we are roughly 33 trillion in debt, not counting the unfunded liabilities of social security, medicare, and Medicaid.
While This Is An older Chart, Little Has Changed. Reality Is Not Pretty
With the current trajectory of economic policies and inflation running above the return savers can earn from safe investments things will only get worse for retirees and those close to retirement age. Considering the amount of debt already amassed, the government is going to have a difficult time putting together generous new aid packages to come to the aid of those dependent upon its programs. This will result in conflict as both the young and the old are forced to fight over the few scraps it can provide.
All this has created a situation where if the money supply now contracts a huge number of defaults will occur and both businesses and investors will incur big losses. This threat to 401Ks and pension plans is real and would make many boomers collateral damage in any effort they make to correct the mess they have created. Those in or nearing retirement should make an extra effort to reduce risk and keep their savings safe.
They should have thought for themselves.
I'm 64 and admittedly, didn't get serious about saving for retirement until about 20 years ago.
It's never too late to right a wrong, though. People who get caught up in selfish endeavors (buying what they want when they want) should pay that price and not assume I'm going to bail them out.
Yes you have been swindled. This is why us Gen Xers have been saying for as long as anyone’s been paying attention that we are not even expecting Social Security to be there by the time we retire. Heck, I’m not even expecting to be able to retire.
Meanwhile, all the life milestones you’ve mentioned have gotten way way worse.
Go to school: fantastically more expensive with each successive generation, to the point where you have a “mortgage” even before you have a mortgage.
Marry: poor prospects with generational cohorts that have been messed up by feminism, the sexual revolution, broken homes.
Raise children well: better be prepared to homeschool, because the public schools and even many of the private ones are a moral sewer.
In our neck of the woods many new huge homes being snapped up often for cash.
Monies being moved from feral unsafe parts of the country moving to this formerly crime free area.
Reminds me of the 80s when all the monies drained from the downtowns to the mall areas. Not so much growth as just movement.
One nasty little overlooked detail of the stat of how much is paid in the last 9 months of life is the fact that much of that money spent is on icu care for accid violence premature births and the like.
The last months of life are not at all solely about old age.
And for the young heroic expensive measures occur.
What some people call mansions are known to others as MacMansions. Grand looking homes with 10 foot lot lines. Most are slab and frame with plywood walls skinned with some covering. Not mansions, not quality construction. Flash us all it is. Just like every thing else in this country since 1970, or there about.
Someone told me that those withdrawal can be rolled into some other sort of Ira product and duck taxes. Idk.
“I can guarantee you that if you did nothing more than institute a “pay yourself first” program where 15% of every paycheck goes into savings and investing you would be living on your investments at retirement and SS would be icing on the cake.
And, you will never miss that 15%. Within a few months you would be used to a standard of living that met your expectations completely.
The place where the authors start to go wrong is when they talk about “safe” investments. A “safe” investment is the most dangerous thing you can do with your money. Governments live on debt, and inflation is the debtor’s friend. Never bet against inflation.
Index funds and carefully chosen real estate will allow anyone to get rich slowly. Get rich quick schemes will separate you from your savings.”
This is the key and it works. My father never made more than $10k a year salary and had a disability pension from WWII. Probably the equivalent of $45k today. He saved 15% religiously and we lived frugally. We owned a house in a good neighborhood alongside families that made twice what we did. He retired at 55 in the mid 1970s moved to Florida and lived very comfortably with a fat bank acct. I followed his example and it worked well for me.
Lol
“Go to the suburbs near any large city and there are literally 10’s of thousands of mansions, all of them sold and being lived in”
I would bet most of those homes are owned by government employees. Notice I did not call them “workers”. These government cretins are the Pretorian guard of the deep state. Teachers unions, AFGE, AFSCME, etc. Robbing the treasury to enrich themselves and bring ruin to the rest of the nation.
https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=p04
I think you have a point there about character and wisdom! As I get older I enjoy my expanded vocabulary. It makes me happy.
Is there any correlation regarding personal taxation and the cost of healthcare? If I were taxed at 70% I would assume a chunk of that tax goes towards socialized medicine.
I agree. I went with 17 percent. Life is good.
“Boomers (full disclosure, I am one!) as a group think they can get away with taking-taking-taking, drinking and opiating their cares away...”
As a boomer myself, you are so full of crap. Pathetic.
” (trust me, I know some of these)”
Trust me, I don’t know any of these. Who do you hang around with? Have you read about the 100,000 kids who die from fentanyl per year in this country? Taking drugs has always appeals to certain segments of every population.
“...living off of society on their entitlements, everything is cool...”
Again crap — in other words, boomers who work never had ccompetition for jobs.
” Nobody questions the results of the study, only whether the 4% rule is the best way to manage one’s retirement portfolio.”
Actually, the same warning that past results may not happen in future. There are studies that indicate this only worked in US markets. Also, some economists see trend toward lower rates of returns. In short, 4% may be too high.
Another thing we're seeing is that unlike most Americans, multiple families from foreign nations will live in the same (1) large home/mansion. That's how they afford to pay the mortgage or the rent.
Re: post # 50
Awesome post.
For starters, regardless of how much you make/yr, live below your means. If you earn $45K, learn to live on $40K and invest the rest. Also, we live in a land of opportunity, not a land of entitlement.
I am not responsible for another's happiness. I am not responsible for the decisions of another. I am not responsible for thinking for another.
If you earn $45K per year and you haven't considered future needs, which may require you to be educated or certified for a higher paying job, you must take some responsibility for your ignorance.
A few rounds of hospital stays and surgeries in the past couple of years derailed me big time.
Insurance took care of the bulk but between deductibles and stuff insurance didn’t cover, it will take years to dig out completely.
That's the truth about many retirement ideas. They sound nice, but that's about it.
That is what my mother says. She is 85 and not retired. She works full time because she enjoys it. It keeps her young and quick. She is amazing.
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