Retirement crisis means most will be unable to afford a solid life

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

It's financial literacy month: Do you know where your retirement is?

CNBC Chairman Mark Hoffman rings the NASDAQ opening bell today to kick off the special month, created in 2003 to teach Americans how to establish and maintain healthy financial habits.

Americans can sure use help with retirement. Baby boomers, in particular, have not saved nearly enough for retirement. They're going to live longer than they think, and if trends continue, many will run out of money before they die.

Just look at the state of the three "legs" of the retirement "stool:" private savings, pensions, and Social Security.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/theres-a-retirement-crisis-in-america-where-most-will-be-unable-to-afford-a-solid-life/ar-BBVu3cM?li=BBnbfcL

The article goes on but I'll say right here, too many companies these days no longer offer a defined pension.

[Hoyt]

1. Right or wrong, companies are not likely to offer defined benefit plans -- markets and longevity

are just too risky.

Hope the government picks up the slack, but I doubt they will either because they haven't even got the guts to address Social Security issues.

[guillaumeb]

2. Another of Reagan's "accomplishments".

Enabling companies to defund their pensions and divert the required contributions to stockholder profits and executive compensation.

[klook]

3. We cut out many optional budget items to save like maniacs for 20 years,

which is the only reason I'm retired now. Many people just don't have that much fat in their budget.

The demise of the defined-benefit retirement plan for all but a lucky few, in favor of 401(k)s, IRAs, and other largely self-managed plans, has put a secure retirement all but out of reach for a great many Americans. That's why many working in education and other public-sector jobs may have a rosier retirement outlook than more highly paid corporate workers:
Why a teacher’s defined benefit retirement plan outshines a 401(k)

From the article:

Critics of public pensions often argue that high attrition rates among new teachers mean that 401(k)-type retirement plans make more financial sense than established defined benefit (DB) plans for all educators. These contentions usually include claims that choosing, or being forced into, 401(k) plans wouldn’t harm teachers’ retirement security in the long run. But new research suggests that these conclusions are based on narrow interpretations of employment data and that they could hardly be further from the truth.
- More at link: https://www.peraontheissues.com/index.php/2019/02/06/why-a-teachers-defined-benefit-retirement-plan-outshines-a-401k/

[rownesheck]

4. I've already been preparing

myself for the inevitable. I'll die on the job at the grocery store while sacking groceries at age 93. Hopefully, I'll have enough energy while dying to make it real dramatic. I want to flail around, smack my head on something hard, spray blood all around like a sprinkler. I plan for this to go on for like 10 minutes, and right at the end I'll scream a guttural "FUCK YOU, CORPORATE AMERICA!!!"

Of course, everyone will just go about their day. Young Tommy will just replace me at the bag stand, while the manager calls over the intercom "Robert, we have a cleanup at the front end. Bring the hazmat suit."

[Merlot]

5. It's their fault for not saving enough?

Baby boomers, in particular, have not saved nearly enough for retirement.

Seems to be the directon this is going.

[Kaleva]

6. I can live on just SS comfortably

Plus I do get a small VA pension of $140.05 a month on top of the SSDI.