Posted on 11/28/2006 10:10:49 AM PST by seacapn
GAINESVILLE - From all appearances, America's baby boomers are a nation of procrastinators wearing rose-tinted glasses.
They think just because they worked all their lives - many starting as early as 16 - they deserve a retirement with the same income as at the peaks of their careers.
Oh sure, there will be some health benefits they'll have to pay for, and heaven knows what gasoline will cost in 10 years. But they'll still be in their homes, drive two cars and take cruises whenever they like.
But recent surveys show that probably isn't going to happen.
The 16th annual Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that a large majority of Americans expect to enjoy a comfortable retirement, but many have not taken the actions needed to turn their aspirations into reality and face the prospect of having to work far longer than they expect.
Their expectations are termed "Swiss cheese" - full of holes.
Twenty-four percent of respondents said they are "very confident" they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement, and another 44 percent said they are "somewhat confident."
But 22 percent of the respondents aren't setting aside anything for retirement. Another 40 percent have saved up less than $50,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at theledger.com ...
I am almost done raising my children. I was a stay at home mom, now looking at a new career.
If you take a moment to add it all up, Taxes are more than merely confiscatory now.
He did not think he needed to save. He got the shaft.
Housing prices will decline. People always say that their going to retire on less income but it doesn't work that way. They want to live the same way on the same amount of money as when they were working. I retired 10 years ago and manage to live adequately on a good six figure income from investments, annuities, munies, and commercial property. You have to plan long term to do it.
Maybe if they had invested better and not wasted so much money on marijuana they wouldn't be in this predicament.
What impoverished retirement. My financial portfolio assures me that I'll be retiring in more than comfortable style!
I'm retired and living on a greatly-reduced income. It can be done. But the heirs and relatives won't get much from my estate down the road, because I'm spending it all NOW, hahaha.
If you can move that money offshore ... DO IT.
Glad you liked it. If it were not based on real life cases, it would be a lot less interesting! LOL!
That's what this last election was. They were already doing some raiding, even prior to retirement.
The grey cieling will never subside. And as a result, the Xers will also be forced to delay retirement. Plus, just about the time the boomers start to clear space for Xers' advancement, their kids come and attack the Xers from below. It's actually already started happening.
You know lately I worry about that too. What if they see our 401k's accumulated over forty years and decide we are undeserving.
Good plan.
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
"A democracy is always temporary in nature..."
America isn't a democracy. Let's hope this republic has a more positive run.
I used to see a guy with a "LV42DAY" California vanity plate - king cab, boat, huge house, etc. Quite a young guy, I might add. Then one day, I didn't see him anymore. Probably has that same vanity in Idaho ....
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This thread has an odd feeling. Just last night husband I were talking about retirement and the market bust yesterday. I calculated in my head what we actually need for a meager retirement, health care, food, one night out a month, no hair color, that kind of thing.
When you scrape out all the fun and gravy of saving for forty years and you have no debt, you can live on very little. Not social security but probably SS plus 1 % of our savings, not the 4 % I planned on.
It made me feel better and it gave me a odd sense of pleasure,,like if hard times came, we would hunker down and make it like our parents did.
We are retirement age but don't want to retire. We work less hours than before, I leave work at 2 everyday and get full pay and we have more time than we ever had. We just like socking away money, traveling and not feeling piinched. Plus we love our jobs, really love them.
And back before that, in the early '90s, there was a great short story in the New Yorker about old people on a very posh cruise. They're having a great time until they find out the cruise is one-way, paid for by their kids who "are tired of waiting for their inheritances." The name of the ship is the S.S. Utopia, if I recall correctly.
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