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Some European countries have laws which mandate the worker, and the employer to invest a percentage of the salary to a private fund, so when the worker retires, he/she will live off of that money as opposed to government SS checks.
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Originally Posted by Mircea
Yes, and those Euro-States have $TRILLIONS in unfunded liabilities, which they cannot possibly pay.
I don't think you understood what you read. Those retirement funds are not government liabilities, they are private accounts and fully funded. If you work a full career, and contribute to it, you can expect to draw about 80% of your former income from these accounts.
Last edited by Finn_Jarber; 08-07-2018 at 06:01 AM..
The sad truth is that there are too many people who are having an increasingly hard time of saving on their own, so when pensions disappeared, they are left with nothing but a SS check, which is often not enough to get by. Going forward SS will also shrink, so the situation is only getting worse.
Some European countries have laws which mandate the worker, and the employer to invest a percentage of the salary to a private fund, so when the worker retires, he/she will live off of that money as opposed to government SS checks.
The rate of people 65 and older filing for bankruptcy is three times what it was in 1991, the study found, and the same group accounts for a far greater share of all filers.
Driving the surge, the study suggests, is a three-decade shift of financial risk from government and employers to individuals, who are bearing an ever-greater responsibility for their own financial well-being as the social safety net shrinks.
Many of you keep voting Republican making the corporations more powerful. It's sort of like cutting off your feet hoping that the reduced weight will help you walk faster.
Many of you keep voting Republican making the corporations more powerful. It's sort of like cutting off your feet hoping that the reduced weight will help you walk faster.
Well, when these powerful corporations provided pensions as a perk to attract top talent, people worried less about things like SS, because pension provided the bulk of the retirement income. Retirees were called "pensioners" for a reason. Now pensions are a thing of the past, and people are not disciplined enough to save on their own, and SS becomes the main source of income during retirement, which means you will struggle.
So, in that sense the push for private accounts like 401K caused more people to become more dependent on the government.
Many of us have lived beyond our means. Borrowing for cars, extravagant vacations, big houses. My parents never heard of a home equity loan. Mortgages were to be paid off as quickly as possible, not perpetuated.
Those who have lived modestly, enjoying life's accessible pleasures, can retire as well as any generation before them. Probably better. But those who have not set aside for old age must face the inevitable consequences.
Many of you keep voting Republican making the corporations more powerful. It's sort of like cutting off your feet hoping that the reduced weight will help you walk faster.
Many still believe in the myth of trickle down economics.
Many of us have lived beyond our means. Borrowing for cars, extravagant vacations, big houses. My parents never heard of a home equity loan. Mortgages were to be paid off as quickly as possible, not perpetuated.
Those who have lived modestly, enjoying life's accessible pleasures, can retire as well as any generation before them. Probably better. But those who have not set aside for old age must face the inevitable consequences.
And people actually saved up for a down payment on a home, or to purchase a car, take a vacation, etc.
today one is punished for practicing such sound economics. Thank you fed reserve!
It's not complex. It all stems from a rising dependency ratio as a result of a falling birthrate. There are too few educated young people to support the elderly.
Ah, so the fact that tax rates are among the lowest ever - even tho they are lowered out of borrowed money (debt and deficit) and inequality continues to soar (that is, the difference between earners and household net worths), it's all about educated people to support the elderly??
Maybe if the Manaforts and Trumps of this world actually paid their taxes we'd have a bit more for those elderly. But, legally or illegally, Americans aren't paying the bills for their society. Oh, the military and security bills get paid. So do the billions in political marketing.
An economist on the radio today said the single biggest indicator of success.....worldwide...which also applies to region, state, city, locale, family, etc - is exactly WHERE you work. A very hard working and ambitious person in the hill country of KY may be disabled by 55 due to working in the mines or other such thing...and they may have had economic ups and downs that precluded saving. The very same "person" who was born and raised in the burbs of Philly or NJ with the same work ethic and attitude may have 10X the same net worth. This is not because the later is a "better and smarter person".
Thank you for that.
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IMHO, our biggest single problem is the lack of universal health care. This is, in fact, driving much of our demise as a world leader. As Churchill noted "Americans will always do the right thing...AFTER all other possibilities have been exhausted".
Sad, on both counts.
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Originally Posted by Mircea
McLeod was apparently too stupid to understand that intelligent people have their mortgages paid off before they retire.
And others are too stupid to understand that not everyone stops buying homes when they're 30. I didn't buy a home until I was 33, and bought my second at 46.
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McLeod and others who insist upon maintaining their hedonistic life-style beyond retirement are not worthy of sympathy.
Wow. I had no idea wanting a roof over your head was "hedonistic." I suppose putting food on the table should be considered luxuries for retirees as well, in this devoid-of-sympathy world?
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France also raised the retirement age to 67 years, and then now requires workers to work 42 years, and those born 1973 or later to work 43 years, before being eligible for retirement benefits.
Contrast that with 35 years in the US.
By the time I hit 67, I'll have been in the workforce - full time - for 49 years. Even retiring at 65, someone who entered the workforce at 21 will have been working for 44 years.
Wanna try again?
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Originally Posted by MongooseHugger
I honestly have a nasty feeling that "assisted suicide" will more likely be the "solution" for all of the impoverished older people than "assisted living".
It certainly will be more affordable. Assisted living is way out of my price range.
It's fairly costly to fly business class to Switzerland - preferable with a more able-bodied friend or family member...and then do the "end it all" thing. Maybe the US Gubment should offer to pay because it will save them money in the longr run, eh?
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