We need a new way to fully fund retirements (federal, retired, trouble)
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Wouldn't a better idea be to fully fund working life, i.e. NON-RETIREMENT first?
I think you are putting the cart before the horse.
It is up to the individual to fully fund their Life-Style.
There are plenty of opportunities for people to advance. The fact that people blatantly and adamantly refuse to take advantage of the plethora of opportunities available to them is not my fault.
Your average poor person would rather spend $800 on a butt-ugly tattoo, than spend $359 to get MIG/TIG certified in welding to get a higher paying job.
Pensions were intended to fully fund retirements. They are pretty much going away.
If you check the history of SS, 401k and IRA accounts, you will find that none of them were ever intended to fully fund retirement. Medicare is not intended to completely pay all your medical bills. People are failing at stitching together the available resources to create a secure, comfortable retirement. Not everyone, but a huge chunk of the population.
We need to either re-invent SS/Medicare so that it is intended to fully fund retirement or come up with something new or different. The crisis is already here; there are a significant percentage of seniors living in poverty and getting by with a hodgepodge of government and private assistance programs and/or help from family. many seniors don't get the care they need. Lifespan and means are so directly correlated that it is embarrassing to see that we allow this to happen to so many.
I am not sure what the answer is. But I really think a fundamental problem is that we have no single vehicle to fully fund even a basic retirement.
Of course, the problem is how would we pay for all this? Our country is struggling right now just to fund social security and medicare at their current levels. If you suddenly increase funding, there will be a greater drain on existing resources. Do you propose increasing taxes? If so, on whom and it what amount? I'm all ears, if you can come up with something, I'll listen to it. What we can't do is find revenue to increase those programs when everyone seems to expect a tax cut.
The idea has always been that there would be three legs to a retirement:
1. Social security;
2. A private pension; and
3. Personal savings.
Leg two was eliminated when employers did away with private pensions over the last thirty years. Leg three isn't what it ought to be because too few people save and invest. This is a complex topic because part of the reason for that is because salaries and wages are so low for some people that savings would literally mean doing without food or shelter.
Personally, I would be satisfied just to know for certain that these programs will be funded at their current levels. I know that I deserve it. I am part of that sandwich generation that has paid and paid for others to have retirement and health care. All I ask is for my turn and for the younger generation to get its turn when their time comes as well.
So people who can't make ends meet now just need to put away $250 a month. Seems simple enough...
But you are missing the basic point - you cannot depend on people doing it themselves even if the math works (and it doesn't always work; a lot of wage earners are already getting assistance just to get by). I understand that people should do it. I have done it. Most people have not. Most people will not. Some of them are spending wastefully and just don't care. Others really don't see how they can afford it. It doesn't matter that maybe they could if they ate generic canned food for half their meals or made their kids share a bedroom in a smaller apartment; that just isn't going to happen.
If a retirement system depends on all participants providing for themselves, it is doomed to failure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReachTheBeach
A significant portion of the population does not have the means. So what do you propose doing about people who don't have enough to retire?
I guess I missed the part where failure to plan on their part constitutes a crisis on my part.
Pensions were intended to fully fund retirements. They are pretty much going away.
If you check the history of SS, 401k and IRA accounts, you will find that none of them were ever intended to fully fund retirement. Medicare is not intended to completely pay all your medical bills. People are failing at stitching together the available resources to create a secure, comfortable retirement. Not everyone, but a huge chunk of the population.
We need to either re-invent SS/Medicare so that it is intended to fully fund retirement or come up with something new or different. The crisis is already here; there are a significant percentage of seniors living in poverty and getting by with a hodgepodge of government and private assistance programs and/or help from family. many seniors don't get the care they need. Lifespan and means are so directly correlated that it is embarrassing to see that we allow this to happen to so many.
I am not sure what the answer is. But I really think a fundamental problem is that we have no single vehicle to fully fund even a basic retirement.
The answer is don't rely on other people to provide your retirement.
Pensions were intended to fully fund retirements. They are pretty much going away.
If you check the history of SS, 401k and IRA accounts, you will find that none of them were ever intended to fully fund retirement. Medicare is not intended to completely pay all your medical bills. People are failing at stitching together the available resources to create a secure, comfortable retirement. Not everyone, but a huge chunk of the population.
We need to either re-invent SS/Medicare so that it is intended to fully fund retirement or come up with something new or different. The crisis is already here; there are a significant percentage of seniors living in poverty and getting by with a hodgepodge of government and private assistance programs and/or help from family. many seniors don't get the care they need. Lifespan and means are so directly correlated that it is embarrassing to see that we allow this to happen to so many.
I am not sure what the answer is. But I really think a fundamental problem is that we have no single vehicle to fully fund even a basic retirement.
Social Security was NEVER meant to fully fund retirement
People need to be responsible and save as much as possible. Whether it be 401K and/or Roth IRA
What the working population needs is fair and equitable wages so they CAN save for retirement
Wage growth has really been stagnant for the last 20-30 yrs because of inflation
Sure some people are getting wealthy but the average salary is not keeping up with people's needs
That is why women went into the work force and stayed there ---
Married couples couldn't afford to have wives stay home
What the working population needs is fair and equitable wages so they CAN save for retirement
Wage growth has really been stagnant for the last 20-30 yrs because of inflation
Sure some people are getting wealthy but the average salary is not keeping up with people's needs
That is why women went into the work force and stayed there ---
Married couples couldn't afford to have wives stay home
I thought woman wanted self actualization and the right to be free and not dependent on a man?
Do the math
Two people working a 40K a year job bring in 80K===not a stupendous salary but decent
Man working that job brings in half that
You cut your standing of living deep when you try to raise a family of 4 or 5 on 40K
Especially if you have state income tax, college to save for, retirement, and any special needs like parents need help or there are job loss periods...
The outlook for a "comfortable" retirement is not good for most, I'm afraid. We are living in a time when $2 million is the new $1 million. This at a time when such a large percentage of us would be in trouble if we missed a paycheck. I feel sympathy for those approaching retirement with only SS and a few thousand in savings. I guess you see them welcoming you at WM.
At today's low returns on bonds, a couple with both receiving SS and a million dollars will get by but had better be willing to accept a higher level of risk than would have been necessary a few decades ago. My father did nicely on SS and interest from high yielding CDs.
While I'd love to have our savings in insured CDs, good yielding government bonds, etc., I find myself willing to keep about 60% in equities. Had some lows, but you only lose money if you sell at the bottom.
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