Still Working (and winning) at Age 82

[Calif.Ted]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Not hating but just out of curiosity, is your pension plan fully funded? There are a lot of boomers out there who think they have it made with a pension.

In small numbers, there are backstops but there are a lot of pensions in rough shape. If you see large numbers go belly up, expect at least a cut in the monthly payment and in a worst case scenario, payments could stop all together.

The reason I bring this up is I'm amazed at the number of people I've talked to who think they don't have to pay attention because the pension people will take care of everything.

70% for 2018, and it increased contribution rates, it's the largest in the US and if it crashes we'll all be in the line for free government cheese.

[Group9]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

If your job is critical to who you are, and what you do, then retirement can be a psychological challenge. People who have a life outside of work find it easier to make the transition.

Yep. If you have defined yourself, your whole life, by what you do for a living, it is going to be really hard to give that up, for anything else. I worked with a lot of people like that. I've been retired ten years, and they still call me up, and can only talk about the job they still do, that I used to do. Like I care.

I loved my job, but not so much that I didn't retire the minute I decided I had enough savings and retirement income stream to do what I wanted to do the rest of my life. For me, that was at fifty two years old.

But, honestly I would have retired at eighteen years old if I could have found a way!

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Calif.Ted

70% for 2018, and it increased contribution rates, it's the largest in the US and if it crashes we'll all be in the line for free government cheese.

Yeah, but it is THAT bad then there won't be anyone left to PAY for the "free" government cheese!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

You are stating, that we need people to make more money because they can't afford to live on what they make...so logically, if we have determined that it is possible to live comfortably on what they make, the problem must not be a lack of earning. The logical assumption then is it must be what they are spending and that leads us to straight to financial literacy.

No, I am referencing the exhaustive economic and social literature on the subject which has identified that while the cost of living has increased over the last 30 years or so, wages have not kept up. It's quite simple.

Of course people need education and knowledge regarding their finances. They also need basic media literacy, and most particularly an awareness of how marketing and advertising manipulates us all to buy, Buy, BUY! But all of this only moves the deck chairs on the Titanic. The basic problem is that wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living -- as all the research shows.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Calif.Ted

Don't hate me but :
I retired at 53, lifetime pension income, etc., etc.,
How did this happen ? Dumb luck, Frugality, and hard work, mostly the dumb luck part starting with dropping out of college.
How can it be replicated today ? Not a clue, I don't think it's possible, that's the "old" economy.
In 1973 my salary was $880/month and was pretty generous due to the hazardous nature of the work, $8,800/month in 2003, same lifestyle, inflation is a bitch.

Well said .

Originally Posted by Group9

Yep. If you have defined yourself, your whole life, by what you do for a living, it is going to be really hard to give that up, for anything else. I worked with a lot of people like that. I've been retired ten years, and they still call me up, and can only talk about the job they still do, that I used to do. Like I care.

I loved my job, but not so much that I didn't retire the minute I decided I had enough savings and retirement income stream to do what I wanted to do the rest of my life. For me, that was at fifty two years old.

But, honestly I would have retired at eighteen years old if I could have found a way!

Completely agree .

[Svsumurun]

"With $10/hr minimum wage in most areas, that translates to around $40k/yr if working full time. While we make more, that's about what we spend for a very comfortable lifestyle. "

Couldn't let this quote go , at $10 hr full time, that's $20,800 a year - a whole lot less than 40k ...

Seems that would make a huge difference...

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by ol1970

I think a big part of the problem is that there is no system in place to teach kids about financial literacy, it falls upon the parents or if lucky a mentor in their life. With 70% of the people in the USA having less than $1,000 in savings it is not hard to understand why the cycle continues.

Not teaching kids about domestic finances is a deliberate choice. A financially illiterate consumer is a malleable consumer.

It was made clear to me when I realized that payday loan providers are not only legal, they are even allowed to advertise.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

Not teaching kids about domestic finances is a deliberate choice. A financially illiterate consumer is a malleable consumer.

It was made clear to me when I realized that payday loan providers are not only legal, they are even allowed to advertise.

But education (here, in the EU) is dictated by the state, not the business.


From, this, what do we know about business-politics relationship?


Many things are not taught, finance is just one of them.


sailing ... ;-)



barnakiel

[barnakiel]

It is truly difficult to find a reasonable (=just) and viable solution to the retirement (funds) challenge.


Most people do not save when they can and when they should. Most of us have had a better financial streak in life. And how many saved anything?



Then, we often now hear, even from our presidents and governments, that we must spend, or else ...


But if we continue on our iPhone14 to iPhone15 spree, then how can we ever save anything?


And if we do save something, how can we be able to invest this towards our retirement when central banks are printing money like toilet paper and giving it to the banks?


Today nobody wants your money and with negative yields it is so hard and at times impossible too to invest.


We went too far in too many respects, and now everybody is sitting with their hands tied (bankers, governments and ourselves) - each party unable to do anything and pull out of the situation.


It is hard and it is gonna get harder. Aside from the privileged few (who are marginal to the whole picture) nobody is going to be living well off their retirement money soon. Many already cannot.



Truly a sad view.
b.

[Mike OReilly]

Here's some interesting Covid-19 news (good? bad?):

U.S. savings rate hits record 33% as coronavirus causes Americans to stockpile cash, curb spending

Perhaps one of the lasting lessons from this Covid Catastrophe will be that we learn what we really need, vs what we want.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Here's some interesting Covid-19 news (good? bad?):

U.S. savings rate hits record 33% as coronavirus causes Americans to stockpile cash, curb spending

Perhaps one of the lasting lessons from this Covid Catastrophe will be that we learn what we really need, vs what we want.

I don't know if this represents people suddenly deciding to make a permanent change; I think these factors are more influential:

• it's a crisis that has brought income insecurity to many
• aid programs came online fairly quickly, but with the uncertainty, I believe many people squirreled away as much of it as possible for future use.
• for those with wealth or income... there simply weren't as many places to spend itas they usually would (travel, dining out).

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Lake-Effect

I don't know if this represents people suddenly deciding to make a permanent change; I think these factors are more influential:

• it's a crisis that has brought income insecurity to many
• aid programs came online fairly quickly, but with the uncertainty, I believe many people squirreled away as much of it as possible for future use.
• for those with wealth or income... there simply weren't as many places to spend itas they usually would (travel, dining out).

Oh, I agree. This is why I said "perhaps...". Maybe people will learn what they really need to live a good life. My hope is that as we open up the economy, that there isn't a mass rush back to old levels of consumption and purchasing.

But I'm not overly hopeful. And I well recognize the Catch-22 this poses. Most western countries are significantly or largely driven by consumer consumption. If this demand drops (as it has now in crisis), then supply drops. What this really means is a huge contraction in economic activity.

But like any natural system, we'd find a new balance ... eventually.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Oh, I agree. This is why I said "perhaps...". Maybe people will learn what they really need to live a good life. My hope is that as we open up the economy, that there isn't a mass rush back to old levels of consumption and purchasing.

But I'm not overly hopeful. And I well recognize the Catch-22 this poses. Most western countries are significantly or largely driven by consumer consumption. If this demand drops (as it has now in crisis), then supply drops. What this really means is a huge contraction in economic activity.

But like any natural system, we'd find a new balance ... eventually.

Maybe Canadians will stop pumping out babies because they get $6,400yr for each one they pop out.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Maybe Canadians will stop pumping out babies because they get $6,400yr for each one they pop out.

Uhmmm... sure? Our birth rate has been in a long-term decline for many decades now. There's no reason to think this trend will change. It's common in most developed countries.

I really don't understand how this follows from my comment on hoping that the Covid-19 shutdowns will help our societies learn they can consume less. Connect the dots for me.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Uhmmm... sure? Our birth rate has been in a long-term decline for many decades now. There's no reason to think this trend will change. It's common in most developed countries.

I really don't understand how this follows from my comment on hoping that the Covid-19 shutdowns will help our societies learn they can consume less. Connect the dots for me.

Everything being driven by ever increasing consumption. There is a limit to how much one can consume so we pay people to pop out kids or pay immigrants to come so we can sell them more stuff.

An ever increasing number of people to buy an ever increasing pile of stuff while depleting resources and ever larger carbon footprints. We neither need growth nor more people. This cannot end well.