Retirement years.... Is bankruptcy in your future?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
I think Social Security should be allowed to crash, and a new National Pension fund should be started, for everyone that pays in.

A pension that works like social security, but with hybrid mechanisms so when the minimum wage increases, or inflation, or weak dollar, it shall be immune. Backed by gold and silver. Not based on age but based on paying in.


The beauty of SS is that 15.3% of this week's GDP is spent on retirees who get the goods and services this week.

You can't save labor for 40 years, if you want a service it's delivered by someone else's labor.
 
I don't worry about bankruptcy in my future. I retired from a Gov't job at age 50 and have a pension for life and have pretty good health insurance. I also contributed 15+% of my income every paycheck with the agency matching my first 5% to my TSP so I have a decent TSP balance which I have not touched since retiring two years ago. I was also pretty much debt free when I retired and am now completely debt free so I can live on my modest pension pretty easily. I won't ever be rich but I also don't have to go back to work to survive.

I was also taught to live within my means and pay myself first so I always planned for retirement. With that being said, most of the people that I worked with and others outside of the job do not and did not really plan for retirement and will probably be in trouble in their later years.

Money management and retirement planning is one area that I feel our society falls short on and the idea that we have to have everything right now, no matter what the cost, doesn't help matters either.
 
Originally Posted by ZZman
Originally Posted by gfh77665
Originally Posted by ZZman
The median of money saved in retirement accounts is way too low.


Delay gratification. Spend less. Save more. Problem solved.


That is easier for those with dual incomes, 6 figure incomes etc.... Those who have play money to invest.

How to lose weight: exercise more, eat less. Problem solved right?.... Not so easy.



It's called self control, unfortunately it's something fewer and fewer children are taught today by their parents. As evidenced by the societal problems.

There are plenty of people who don't make 6 figures that saved a lot for retirement.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by gfh77665
Originally Posted by ZZman
Originally Posted by gfh77665

Old timer?? I am still putting my son (above) through college. I am not old. You need to recalculate, Max.


Your son is lucky. Most parents can't afford to do that.


Its not "luck".

Again, I worked hard, lived well within my means, and diligently saved for the future.


I guess that's some matter of debate as to whether you don't get sick or injured is a matter of luck or not. You could do all that you said and still have something come up like cancer or something else that derails that. Therefore luck is also a component of how people end up where they are. Also some consider getting a particular job a matter of luck. I would agree that it's not all luck though although some part of success is due to luck or I like to refer to it as the randomness of the universe.

In terms of retirement, I think most people never got the numbers on the math. About 15% of your income is put away for 35 years for social security and that's supposed to account for 40% of your retirement income. You'd have to save a lot more than that for the other 60%.
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by gfh77665
The American dream is achievable to anyone with a good work ethic and a disciplined money management mindset. The American dream also has to be realistic. 20 somethings just starting out in their entry level job should not buy a new SUV and a McMansion, then whine when ends don't meet. Thats what the entitlement generation does.
Entry level jobs require 4+ years of xp now, real estate was much cheaper back in the day. A blue collar could support a 2+ kid, 2+ car household on a single income in the boomer days. Not to mention more foreigners and women in the workplace driving wages down, why do you think cars are so much more expensive than they were 30 years ago?

Classic boomer telling you to just work harder, while their house they bought 30 years ago has tripled in value over the past decade. It takes $120k a year income to own a house in Toronto, my Dad owned three at one point on a single blue collar salary 30 years ago. The times have changed, old timer.


I have to agree here. I figured it would take an even higher yearly income to live there. The real estate prices are outragous. The average working family has no hope of buying something there.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Well one way to avoid bankruptcy for the elderly is to just die with a lot of debt.


With minimum wages in many areas going to $15, a retired couple could rake in $60,000 a year working at McDonalds.


$60/K a year is nothing for two people in a big city where most of the $15/minimum wages are at.
 
Last edited:
My plan is retirement is to work with those who may not have been as lucky as I have.
Personal finance counseling is one way...

Those who are or will be in trouble, well that could be me.
Just my 2 cents.
 
Let's go down the list...

Favorite drink - Water
Favorite entertainment source - Library
Favorite place to go out drinking - The water fountain at the library
Favorite type of internet - Free at the library
Favorite place to meet women - Why isn't it obvious? The women's lingerie section at the local library
Favorite transportation - Bicycle, hitchhiking, ride sharing, and a trip inside the mind
Favorite political party - The one who will give away the most free pins
Favorite car - Paid for 10 years ago, cost only $2000. A 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage maintained exclusively with discounts and rebates from the BITOG site since day one.
Favorite health care - Yoga, whatever the wife is in the mood for, and the four food groups
Favorite sport - Dumpster diving
Favorite foods - Rice, beans, pasta, apples, bananas, carrots, lentils, and whatever a nickel bullet can be used for during hunting season
Favorite footwear - 20 year old sandals held together with bungee straps and duct tape. Actually, he bought a dozen sandals from the local Kmart when they closed down for just two to three dollars a pair.
Favorite education - Reading books, lecturing random strangers on frugality

Let's take this completely fictitious person and ask ourselves a simple question.

How much will they have saved up once they reach the age of 70.

The answer as you all already know is seventy billion, three hundred million dollars and twelve cents. Give or take a penny.

All bow down to mister fiscal responsibility and his holier than thou tightwad wife,,,,
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by gfh77665
The American dream is achievable to anyone with a good work ethic and a disciplined money management mindset. The American dream also has to be realistic. 20 somethings just starting out in their entry level job should not buy a new SUV and a McMansion, then whine when ends don't meet. Thats what the entitlement generation does.
Entry level jobs require 4+ years of xp now, real estate was much cheaper back in the day. A blue collar could support a 2+ kid, 2+ car household on a single income in the boomer days. Not to mention more foreigners and women in the workplace driving wages down, why do you think cars are so much more expensive than they were 30 years ago?

Classic boomer telling you to just work harder, while their house they bought 30 years ago has tripled in value over the past decade. It takes $120k a year income to own a house in Toronto, my Dad owned three at one point on a single blue collar salary 30 years ago. The times have changed, old timer.


Spot on! And boomers are the entitled generation that didn't save for retirement because they had to have a new SUV and McMansion in the middle of nowhere. Millennials want the opposite - city living and are fine with Uber/Lyft/Car2Go.

And the boomer probably remortgaged their house 3 times in those decades and now has a mortgage 3x what they paid!
 
Originally Posted by ZZman

So you are saying higher numbers of elderly aren't going bankrupt? That many seniors aren't struggling in their later years?


A lot of it is still self-inflicted... a LOT of baby boomers are suffering because they are the original "spear head" that did what "feels good" in the 60's, and now their chickens are coming home to roost.

In addition, discipline is lacking out of apparent "love and care"....

I can't even BEGIN to count all the people I know in their 70's suffering now because they spent their retirement on Houses and Cars for their kids.... who aren't paying any of it back.
 
Social security is the problem. If the average person invested that 15.3% over their lifetime at the S&P 500 average, they would receive 3x their social security payouts. Add that on to their retirement funds and they would easily have enough to live out their lives in comfort.
 
Higher numbers is meaningless without percentage comparisons.

The baby boomers are an outsized generation. So what is more meaningful is what percentage of a population is going bankrupt.

If the percentage stays the same, then is it really a news story?

Comparing over 65 today to over 65 from 1991, what percentage carried debt into their retirement in both populations?

My anecdote is my mom. She retired at 65, and has gone back to work at 73 because she doesn't manage her money well. She put a bunch of money down on a condo, which I advised against, and now she's paying the price. Not just for that, but for a number of things.

There is a bit of slant in this article. What I don't see mentioned is any discussion of the spending habits of those going into retirement and ultimately into bankruptcy. How many had a new car every 2-3 years, a boat, a pool, trips, and so on, credit, credit, credit...

So while the things they mention are accurate, I believe they are leaving out things that don't support their world view.

A good news story would look at ALL aspects and not just the points that bolster their pre-conceived notions.


Originally Posted by ZZman
Originally Posted by gfh77665
Originally Posted by ZZman

Did not notice that. Does it change the info?


Its highly biased and political spin.


So you are saying higher numbers of elderly aren't going bankrupt? That many seniors aren't struggling in their later years? Hmmm. Let me find a link more to your liking.
 
Isn't it amazing how so many people actually mislead others about what they actually own vs. owe money on. The new wisdom is that we should buy what we like and somehow it will all work out. Listening to my kids both of whom I put through college makes me wonder what things will be like in the future. Its all about entitlement and what you can get today! Nobody thinks about the future anymore. Too many seniors have depleted their saving to help others and in the end come up short!
 
I had both my sons open a Roth IRA when they turned 18 and were working part-time after high school.

I did give them the money to invest and get the snowball start rolling.
 
I have saved my entire adult life, drove decent but older cars. House will be paid off in 2 years. (By age 50) Have a good pension when I retire at 60 along with my 457 plan. I always said I'm not going to depend on anyone especially the government to dictate how I am going to live in retirement.
 
Know someone who worked for one of the airlines who went through bankruptcy years ago. He ended up with 50% of his pension amount -instead of the 100% he was counting on when he retired.
 
Last edited:
Debt is generally a self(inflicted) choice.

It's pretty sad though when medical bills lead to bankruptcy and feel for anyone in that situation.
 
Seems like the trend here is that debt is somehow easily avoided. In the real world that may not necessarily be the case. Sometimes things just happen that we can not predict! Like I stated previously MANY people actually tell others they are OK now and in the future when they are actually not. Its ALL about perception!
 
Originally Posted by NO2
If the average person invested that 15.3% over their lifetime at the S&P 500 average, they would receive 3x their social security payouts.

How many people do you think would though ?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top