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Roughly half of all U.S. families have no money set aside for retirement, Federal Reserve data show. Not a cent. But even that alarming savings deficit doesn't fully capture the emerging socioeconomic crisis facing what is, after all, a rapidly graying nation.
Absolutely crappy "news" coverage. This article is long on sensational gloom and doom and very, very short on facts. I tried to check on some of the few facts cited and got nowhere.
Absolutely crappy "news" coverage. This article is long on sensational gloom and doom and very, very short on facts. I tried to check on some of the few facts cited and got nowhere.
Well it is doom and gloom coverage, and no clue as to the sampling methods for their "study." Curious to know which "facts" you tried to research.
Not a surprising story, I wonder what policy changes they'd like to see happen to address the issue. It has been substantially reported and discussed the past few years, and I don't think it is a surprise to read this today.
Increasing the savings rate a little wouldn't really fix the problem, instead of instantly being poor the unfortunate individuals would still end up being poor just a few years later.
Absolutely crappy "news" coverage. This article is long on sensational gloom and doom and very, very short on facts. I tried to check on some of the few facts cited and got nowhere.
My son took a journalism course in our local community college. His instructor told them to make up statistics if they could not find any to prove the point. He suggested that no one ever checks up on them. Glad he was wrong.
I am a little tired of the doom and gloom. And I am not in the least worried the money won't last. The only difference I see between SS and the food stamps everybody seems to be getting is that we and our employers paid into the system before we started taking out. Our friends and someday we will drop like flies. We have several funerals we could go to each month.
The money is being redistributed as we pay to have our needs met. Have you ever noticed that they never mention stopping sending money to other countries that will just be a drain. We are the only problem our children have to be burdened with.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Just wait until the people in their 20s-30s today reach retirement age, if you are still around then. With the probable end of Social Security before then, the trend toward 401Ks rather than pensions, and the fact that people wait to long to start saving for retirement, they are likely to be in far worse shape than those retiring in the next 10-20 years. Even those that work where a pension is offered won't likely qualify for much since they tend to change jobs so often now. Whether you get 1% or 8% return on your investments makes little difference if you don't start saving for retirement until you are in your 50s.
I wonder if major factors in this whole situation is just a sense of entitlement and lack of personal responsibility. For most of history most people worked until they could no longer work and retirement often was a few years relying on family, church, or charities until death. Planned retirement is a fairly new development and the expectation that support was going to come from somewhere but yourself is also a fairly recent mindset. Unplanned problems and even tragedies will happen and life is about dealing with them.
It seems that in the last century society has evolved a dependent point of view that cannot work well over the long term.
I wonder if major factors in this whole situation is just a sense of entitlement and lack of personal responsibility. For most of history most people worked until they could no longer work and retirement often was a few years relying on family, church, or charities until death. Planned retirement is a fairly new development and the expectation that support was going to come from somewhere but yourself is also a fairly recent mindset. Unplanned problems and even tragedies will happen and life is about dealing with them.
It seems that in the last century society has evolved a dependent point of view that cannot work well over the long term.
I wonder about this myself. On the other hand I sometimes think people just give up. I think it is harder than ever to succeed in our society. I think about my grandfather. He was a starving peasant illiterate farmer in a poor rural area of Italy. He came to the US, worked in the steel mills for close to nothing, literally walked and begged his way across the US and eventually made a lot of money with a small farm. My grandma lived into her late 90's with plenty of money to support her simple lifestyle. All of the 6 kids were given a good start in life and eventually also got a decent inheritance. I worked hard and had the advantages of college and graduate education. I always seemed to struggle and had a hard time getting ahead. I think taxes have a lot to do with it. My grandfather worked and kept his money. I worked, made more and paid more and more taxes. I guess I also feel entitled. I will not be upset if I run out of resources and the government has to take care of me in my old age.
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