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401K plans have been around for years. IRA's have been around for years. The market has been around for years. Many employers offered pensions years ago. Even without a plan, nothing has kept people from saving money and or investing it as they choose to.
If all the above options have been available to people, who's problem is it that people are retiring poor? I know that every year I have been working at the Hospital and it is almost 19 years now, we have benefit fairs including 403B representatives and IRA representatives that explain choices that we have.
Lets say that someone starts working at 20 and invests each year in a 401K or an IRA and today they are 65 and want to retire. So for the past 45 years they had the option to invest money. Truth be told not all employers offered a 401K that long ago. It was not till 1980 I think that a company or two started to offer a 401K or 403B. Back then though many did offer a pension plan.
Yes, some of the discussed issues with higher vs. lower income people are valid, but I think folks on this board often forget, or are just not exposed to, that many of the reasons why lower income people live shorter lives are also cultural and not just monetary.
One of my grandfathers grew up in a poor sharecropping family in Virginia. He has, and has always had, an extremely irrational fear of dentists. He didn't go to the dentist until his teeth were severely infected and has had dentures for two decades. Many people in southwest Virginia are extremely poor, and they often take pride in "gritting your teeth and bearing it," even if they feel something is seriously wrong. Suffering is a badge of honor in some circles.
You could provide free medical care for life to everyone in the country, and there are going to be places like southwest Virginia that remain culturally backward and medically ignorant, and will have shorter life expectancies than average.
Excellent point. My earlier example of smoking rates relates to your point. The poor, and the less educated, smoke more. They live among people where a greater percentage smoke, so if they don't, or they quit, they are going against the tide to some extent. Whereas it is the opposite in the middle class and upper middle class: If you smoke you are going against the tide. It's cultural.
I think many GenXers will have to end up living with their kids during the golden years.
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Originally Posted by mathjak107
or roommates like the golden girls .
And what would be wrong with that?
Government should encourage and promote both options, through tax policies, if necessary.
The current Standard of Living and Life-Style is unsustainable over the long-term, so people, especially Generations X and Y, should get used to down-sizing. The sooner they do, the better-off they'll be.
in two years , we ran in to 2 doctors in nyc that didn't take medicare .
Goody for you. My physical therapy provider just dropped Medicare. Fortunately for me, I am not on Medicare so it does not affect me. Your experience is not my experience. That doesn't make mine less valid. Try finding a psychiatrist who takes Medicare. It's very limited. Yes, they are on the list, but you need to call them to find out that they stopped accepting it this past year as costs increase and they don't get reimbursed enough (according to the doctor). Many of the specialty doctors, by "speciality," i mean some condition that is less common, will not accept Medicare and even any insurance plans. This has been "our" experience learned the hard way, but we had no choice.
Most teaching and public hospitals accept Medicare and do not use income based criteria to admit patients.
Perhaps the major differences is that healthy people live a more healthy lifestyle and take the time to do preventative testing so that any issues are identified earlier and treated.
True enough. But the cost of prescription drugs have been hurting many Americans, again especially if you can't get a generic version or if you have to treat something uncommon. I needed traumeel injections for a while. It was the only thing that gave me relief. It was $300 a pop and not covered by insurance.
Most teaching and public hospitals accept Medicare and do not use income based criteria to admit patients.
Perhaps the major differences is that healthy people live a more healthy lifestyle and take the time to do preventative testing so that any issues are identified earlier and treated.
I am sure that you are right about educated people taking better care of their health. In fact, aren't we paying the price for the baby boomer smokers of all income levels who are now feeling the effects of their habit. Then, there are baby boomers who had health problems years ago, but the modern treatments and tests were not available back then, especially for mental health issues which aren't going to kill you, but can be managed much better with the newer drugs which also have less side effects. But the biggest determiner of good health and longevity is genetics. Some people can smoke and drink for years and live to be 100 like George Burns.
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