43 per cent Americans have less than $10,000 for retirement (55, pensions, long-term)

[GLS]

Originally Posted by Boompa

..... 401Ks are why most people have less than $10K......

401Ks are not inherently evil, it was following a brokers advice that works on commission, that was ONE reason 401Ks deflated.

[mathjak107]

why anyone would blame a savings vehicle is silly....401k's offer money markets and stable value funds as well as everything else too...


if it wasnt for 401k's and the fact alot contribute on auto pilot the truth is they would never have saved a penny left to themselves to put away whats left.

folks choose not to do their homework when it comes to their money. they do more research on a car or refrigerator then they do on understanding their money and investments.

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

why anyone would blame a savings vehicle is silly....401k's offer money markets and stable value funds as well as everything else too...


if it wasnt for 401k's and the fact alot contribute on auto pilot the truth is they would never have saved a penny left to themselves to put away whats left.

folks choose not to do their homework when it comes to their money. they do more research on a car or refrigerator then they do on understanding their money and investments.

People should this, people should that......The FACT is that they didn't, this is America and they are not going to be left to starve in the street.
Wall Street skinned most of their 401Ks and you and I get to pay for it

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by Boompa

People should this, people should that......The FACT is that they didn't, this is America and they are not going to be left to starve in the street.
Wall Street skinned most of their 401Ks and you and I get to pay for it

Most people are somewhere around 90% recovered unless they sold left their money in low yielding funds. If you had held your portfolio you would be about 90% recovered.

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by Boompa

Then why do 43% of Americans have less than $10,000 do tdollars for retirement. You sound like a professional who knows how to handle those investments, but obviously most people are not. In the end they will be dependent on the taxpayer and you will pay for them.

Because they never invested

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by Ellwood

I agree with you TuborgP. We planned ahead for retirement, especially with no debt. Most months our income exceeds our needs. We live an active lifestyle, travel and have a few expensive hobbies. At this point there is no need to touch our savings. The only unknown is catastrophic illness.

Bingo and we are still saving and investing and not touching our investments and my wife will soon be getting her SS and that is all investment targeted. Suits aren't real expensive when you don't have to buy them anymore.

[GLS]

Originally Posted by Boompa

...... this is America and they are not going to be left to starve in the street....

Admirable thought, but human nature is not so humanitarian in times of extreme stress.

[Gandalara]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

without a breakdown by age and just what groups and from where where surveyed those facts really dont mean much....

Noted at the bottom of the article:
"The EBRI surveyed 1,153 US workers and retirees, age 25 and older, in January."

I think it was skewed from the beginning if it included 25 year-olds.

[mathjak107]

like i said in an earlier post that was a useless article with a useless statistic...

[GLS]

Originally Posted by Gandalara

Noted at the bottom of the article:
"The EBRI surveyed 1,153 US workers and retirees, age 25 and older, in January."

I think it was skewed from the beginning if it included 25 year-olds.

Yes, that was one of the points I was trying to make in the hypothetical example in my first post. An analogy in the extreme: "My retirement nest egg is 83% higher than the average".....................if n=150 (consisting of 90% of the piggybanks of third graders).