40% of Americans say they can't afford retirement

[OhioChick]

Source: CNN

April 13, 2011: 12:08 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Gone are the plans to golf, garden or read on a creaky porch swing.

Almost 40% of working Americans said they will never afford retirement, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Retirement ranked as the most important issue out of all financial concerns facing Americans, including uninsured medical expenses and rising education costs. In fact, it topped the list for the second year in a row, the survey said.

The majority, or 56%, of those polled said they were not saving for retirement, mostly because of the toll higher gas and food prices were taking on their budgets.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/13/retirement/retirement_savings/?section=money_latest

[Avalux]

1. Yes, this is true. And still, they vote Republican. n/t

[AndyTiedye]

3. Because the Tee Vee Tells Them To

MUST… OBEY…

[valerief]

32. Indeed, indeed, indeed

[Oldtimeralso]

40. My Late MIL Used to Say...

That she heard it on the radio (Lush Bimbough)and saw it on Faux Spews so it has to be true on they wouldn't put it on the radio or TV.

:crazy: :popcorn: :crazy:

[chervilant]

58. My older sister

says that now...

[Hoyt]

6. If they can't afford retirement, they don't want anyone else to either -- Recons guarantee that.

[L0oniX]

37. That's what rigged voting machines are for.

[MichiganVote]

2. K&R

[Bonhomme Richard]

4. To make things worse those that do save are only getting...

a little better than nothing for interest on their money.

[Carolina]

16. ain't that a bitch

I have been trying to save and wonder where to put it. CDs and savings accounts are worthless. Bonds are questionable and I don't dare gamble on the market.

[JDPriestly]

44. I called a broker and asked for advice about where to put money.

That was a year ago. He said, well there isn't anything really now, but there might be something next fall.

[EFerrari]

5. Retirement? What about rent?

[progressoid]

7. That would be me.

[tularetom]

8. Only 40% of Americans KNOW they can't afford retirement

The actual percentage of those who can't afford it but don't realize it plus those who have awakened to the ugly truth is probably closer to 75%.

[bluethruandthru]

12. Exactly! n/t

[L0oniX]

38. + a zillion.

[russspeakeasy]

43. tularetom speaks true....

[JDPriestly]

46. And there is a huge percentage of those of us who find ourselves

retired before we ever planned and, of course, we cannot afford it.

Our parents' generation had pensions. We don't.

[anarch]

52. 99%, if the conceptual arrangement that allows some to have "financial security" should collapse

But the way I've been given to understand it, we peons should be happy, because we still live better than most of the noble class did a thousand years ago. We have television and shit.

Any self-respecting culture finds a way to take care of its elders. We must re-appropriate the natural endowments of the earth...they are there for everyone to enjoy, and those who capriciously take and hoard more than they can ever possibly consume are robbing the rest of us.

Tyrants always fall, no matter how cleverly they try to hide the bare fact that they are tyrants. They've got the guns, but we've got the numbers, my friends.

[Enthusiast]

103. I believe you are correct.

We hope to "get by". Medical care will be OUT OF THE QUESTION.

[HockeyMom]

9. I am 62 and make $13/hour

And now Floriduh's Savior wants me to contribute 5% of my salary, which would put it then UNDER mimimum wage, for my "retirement". What RETIREMENT? I should be retired NOW and I certianly don't need 5% of my salary to be taken out for some DISTANT (sic) retirement. I will be dead and buried by then. I need that money NOW just to LIVE on.

[flamingdem]

15. The whole state of FL should sue him

and use that money for retirement.

I sincerely feel bad for Floridians under Skeletor's reign.

Hang in there!

[Enthusiast]

104. How could people have elected that idiot?

I know, Ohio elected Kasich. I understand Kasich is a Wall Street criminal but at least he isn't guilty of the worst medicare fraud in history. We got us a fine crop of Republican governors.

[phantom power]

10. I bet another 40% are being overly optimistic.

[Bonhomme Richard]

18. +1 n/t

[osteenq]

24. +2 n/t

...

[Lugnut]

60. I bet you're right.

Expenses keep going up and those who are retired are on fixed incomes. That's why Walmart greeters are usually old people.

[nichomachus]

97. Most people are on fixed incomes

My partner works and hasn't had a raise in three years. This nonsense about retirees being on "fixed incomes" is just that -- nonsense. Most people have no control over their salaries and most salaries aren't going up.

[avaistheone1]

62. I strongly agree.

[reggie the dog]

11. the smart ones will retire by selling weed

[flamingdem]

14. LOL!

Is it better for that for weed to be legal or illegal?

I live in California and the weed growers seemed to be against Prop 19

[anarch]

53. as it stands now, illegal

But maybe part of the money this nation uselessly wastes "fighting drugs" could go toward providing, I dunno, healthcare or something.

[reggie the dog]

68. illegal

you get your social security, grow weed and sell it to your grandkids for a good price like say 1500 a pound. you get tax free money coming in and it more than pays for the electricity for the grow op.

[guruoo]

93. Of lost youth, and inflation...

In the summer of 1972 I had just turned 18, and weed was going for $25/lb at the Bull Island festival.

I can remember(vaguely)at some point during that weekend, being introduced to the technique of pit smoking.
First you copped a lb, placed it a pit dug in the ground, light it up and get it to the point where it was just
smoldering. After that you put a blanket over the pit, closed your eyes and stuck your head underneath.

One had to take care not to remain underneath so long that you risked passing out and
keeling over into the burning ganja.

[reggie the dog]

117. holy shit, 25 dollars for 3.5 grams is a good price today

only on réunion island in the indian ocean have i paid 20 euros for 50 grams and i thought that was a good price

[guruoo]

125. The 80's campaign to 'get tough' on pot increased the risk, which drove up the value

(cost)of the product. Great for the cartels, bad for the heads at the street level.
All one has to do is follow the $$$ to see the legislative motivation behind the
campaign to increase penalties.

[Le Taz Hot]

73. Legal.

And sell both the finished products and clones to the dispensaries. A few of the very large pot growers were against it and the anti- crowd used them for their own agenda against the "demon weed" but the vast majority who believe in legalization voted "yes." The answer of "grow pot" really isn't a bad one.

[mountainlion55]

106. lots of votes

Prop 19 got more votes than Meg Whitman. The 40 something demographic was the reason it lost. That demographic was afraid that their kiddies might smoke the evil weed so they voted no based on ignorance. Typical!!!

[Javaman]

72. Naa, it will flood the market and the price will drop.nt

[reggie the dog]

118. that would be good, i could smoke more weed were it cheaper

[Javaman]

120. true, but there would be huge layoffs. nt

[reggie the dog]

123. imports would go down

i have read that somewhere between 25 and 40% of the weed smoked in the usa still comes from overseas, if the home grown were good i think it would beat out imports

plus i think that many people limit their smoking due to cost so that were it cheaper they would smoke more.

i really do not care if there would be lay offs in cannibis production in mexico or canada and in cannibis importation.

[Enthusiast]

105. LOL! nt

[mountainlion55]

107. YES

The underground economy is a viable alternative. Just say F#$K the system!

[Newest Reality]

13. Death is the new retirement for many

Work until you drop. Well, no more problems, bills, health care costs. That's kind of like Heaven only you probably won't be anywhere at all ;)

[L0oniX]

39. Yep ...who needs a death panel when these fucks play good cop bad cop with our future.

[Athena66]

41. You're right, and isn't that the whole point?

They'll wind up raising the Social Security retirement age to 70- which may be marginally okay if you work at a desk, but is devastating for people who have physically demanding jobs. Construction. Mining. Nurse's aides and orderlies. Heck, even cooks (try being on your feet, slinging heavy, hot pots and pans around eight hours or more a day- I've done it, and it ain't easy). All kinds of jobs like that. The whole point is to work most of us until we die, sooner than we otherwise would have. That sure solves Medicare, and frees up the the money in Social Security (that we spent our lives paying into) so that the government can give more to big corporations.

[freshwest]

66. You got it all there. Welcome to DU.

[Lance_Boyle]

83. Actually sitting all day is its own health problem.

The joints may end up in better shape than those of someone who works on his feet, but the circulatory system is in far worse shape. Desk jobs aren't a health benefit, so pick your poison.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

90. I truly believe that is the plan for many of them.

We are just labor and become a burden to their whole capitalist orgasmic fantasy if we live too long or cost too much.

[Athena66]

95. Exactly

If they could turn back the clock to the Middle Ages and re-institute some form of serfdom, no doubt they would. Work for some company at pitiful wages until we die. As long as businesses and their wealthy owners continue to reap ever-increasing profits; that seems to be the goal.

[hamerfan]

70. Dead Peasant Insurance

for all! :sarcasm:

http://deadpeasantinsurance.com/

[slackmaster]

17. It's getting harder to afford to drive to work, too

:argh:

[Fearless]

19. So lets cut taxes on the wealthy and it'll trickle down!

:eyes:

[Enthusiast]

108. That'll work!

[SoCalNative]

20. Whether I can afford it or not

I'm not worming past 62.

55 if I can help it.

[tclambert]

21. 50% make less than $33,048 Adjusted Gross Income according to the IRS

http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html

If my wife and I were making that little, we wouldn't be able to save anything for retirement, either. The middle class has shrunk to about 20% of the population. 10% make better than six figure incomes. About 70% fall below what I would think of as middle class. We're not BECOMING one of those third world counties that just has a few rich and everybody else poor. We're ALREADY THERE.

On the Today Show this morning, Michelle Bachmann (R-lunatic) complained how unfair it is that the top 1% pay 40% of taxes. The bottom 50% pay only 2.7% of taxes. But the average income of the top 1% is 78 times the average of the bottom 50%.

Retire? Why would they want to let slaves retire?

[HughBeaumont]

96. Did Michelle Batshit also state that the top 10% own 71% of this country's wealth?

Or anything stated in this article?

http://wweek.com/portland/article-17350-9_things_the_rich_dont_want_you_to_know_about_taxes.html

Oh wait, she probably didn't.

[Art_from_Ark]

124. I hate it when they equate taxes with just federal income taxes

Poor people usually pay a far greater proportion of their income in sales taxes, for example.

[sarcasmo]

22. Work till we die.

[midnight armadillo]

69. sing it

We're the first ones to starve, we're the first ones to die
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky
And we're always the last when the cream is shared out
For the worker is working when the fat cat's about
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQfGTDyjVSE

[SammyWinstonJack]

121. Assuming we have jobs, work til we die.

x(

[GreydeeThos]

23. Retire? At this point I would just settle for not owing any money when I get old

Year over year, I am watching my debt slowly grow. I do not see how I can save up enough for a retirement when I can't even break even.

[benld74]

25. I told my wife that by the tie I retire, I'll be known as 'That Ole' Effer in the Corner'!

[JDPriestly]

47. It's not what you and your wife want. It's what your boss wants,

and if he decides he can find a younger person who can do your job faster than you can, you will retire long before you are the 'ole' effer in the corner'

[Wednesdays]

77. Faster, and for half the money!

:(

[bhikkhu]

26. and probably 50% who think they can really can't

when you factor in inflation, energy and food costs, and the rotten health care system we have. I've got nothing for retirement myself, though it bothers me more that I've got nothing for my kid's college saved up.

[ncpmd]

27. Millions flocking to retire overseas

According to a Zogby Study, "fifty-four citizens decide to leave the United States and go offshore… every minute!"

Many millions will retire overseas. I am researching this option myself. It would be an incredibly hard decision with family here.

[KillCapitalism]

67. That's what I plan to do IF I can retire.

The cost of living in the US is insane & getting to the point where only the top 5% can live comfortably.

I'll go somewhere cheaper like Belize, or Vietnam if I'm able to.

[Le Taz Hot]

74. I thought immigration for a person

over 45 who isn't fabulously wealthy was not an option. I've looked to Canada, England and Australia -- all have very strict immigration laws and they're all very clear that they don't want older people.

[Wednesdays]

78. Ya gotta have money to emigrate

Look at how much it costs just to take a vacation overseas. If someone doesn't have any savings for retirement anyway, how could they possibly re-locate to a foreign country, even to Canada?
:shrug:

[Enthusiast]

109. If Canada would let me

participate in their retirement system I would be GONE!

[Matariki]

28. Have you ever read financial advice about retirement?

They usually seem to imply that you need a million or two million dollars to retire. It's insane.

The formula is to take only 4% of your savings each year. So, if you need, say, 30k to live on - you would have to retire with $750,000.

We're all so screwed.

[eallen]

30. Which discounts social security, entirely.

And that's not right. There are a lot of retirees making do on their social security, living in a home whose mortgage was long since paid. Yes, that's meager.

But not radically so. Depending a lot on one's wage history.

:hippie:

[russspeakeasy]

45. Ummmm?

[JDPriestly]

49. As long as you can rely on Social Security and Medicare

you will be able to survive but just barely on Social Security.

You don't buy nice presents for your children. You don't travel. You eat simple food and you don't spend much at all for entertainment. But you remain alive. Social Security pays out on the average less than $1200 per month. It's less if you earned very little during your working years, more if earn more.

[Odin2005]

48. And if you are unable to save they blame you for "financial indiscipline".

:banghead:

[Kat45]

56. Exactly.

It's our own fault for not having the foresight to save--never mind the fact that many of us barely make enough money to pay our bills, with nothing left to save. And even those who make a little more than that still don't have enough left over to save enough for retirement.

[Wednesdays]

79. Not to mention any factors such as catastrophic illnesses, accidents, layoffs...

But in the GOP world it's "no excuses!"
:banghead:

[Enthusiast]

110. Oh yes, and poor life choices.

"Uh, sorry I fucked up on my life decisions. I would go back and change things if I could."

[bongbong]

29. The GOP view of retirement

"Only rich businessmen should be able to retire. The rest of you should slave until you drop over dead. I know our voters who aren't billionaires believe that too, since we've ordered them to."

[lovuian]

31. I know we are working for healthcare especially

wake up people

[kestrel91316]

33. I will probably work until I get sick with something potentially treatable but that I

cannot afford treatment for, and then will die. Could be next year, could be in 25 years, but I suspect this is how it will go for me and tens of millions like me.

The Gilded Age has indeed returned.

[earcandle]

34. Glad I am not alone.. I've seen the best minds of my generation....

Census

[SHRED]

35. health insurance too high...I can't

[L0oniX]

36. ...and you can bet that they won't be voting for anyone who threatens SS and Medicare.

[TxVietVet]

42. 20 or 25 years ago, I heard a business talk show host say.....

that around 65% of Americans, their only retirement money was their home and Social Security. He also stated that when all the baby boomers start to retire, these retirees would be trying to sell their real estate for that money. Well, guess what? Real estate fell and the conservanazis are going to try to trash Social Security. Maybe that will convince those folks to vote for the conservanazis.

[Yavin4]

50. The Other 60% Believe That They Will be able to Sell Their Homes to Finance Theire Retirement

Or so they hope to.

[JDPriestly]

51. One of the biggest problems is that many, many people in their

50s and 60s are unemployed and living off their 401Ks.

[Yavin4]

54. Which Is Why So Much of the Financial Advice Is Dead Wrong

You should spend, save, and invest in accordance to your levels of risk. You need to make sure that you can get through short term, mid term, and long term risks. Retirement is a long term risk. Putting all of your money into a long term risk while ignoring short term and mid term risks is flat wrong.

[JDPriestly]

61. The problem is that once you are retired, you dare not take much

risk at all. The crash of 2008 came at a very bad time for baby boomers and seniors.

[Le Taz Hot]

75. And to this day I find the timing

rather convenient, don't you?

[JDPriestly]

87. Yes!

[glinda]

55. My brother told me tonight, from his job, he just had to tap into his 401K.

[robinlynne]

57. well then, let's cut social security.

[Enthusiast]

111. Great idea! nt

[Orrex]

59. In reality, a good deal more than 40% of Americans can't even afford to work

Not for the shit-pitiful paychecks that are cynically described as "a living wage" these days.

[SammyWinstonJack]

122. +1

[jtuck004]

63. Communes. eom

[RevStPatrick]

94. Yep...

I lived in a commune when I was young.
I will probably live in a commune when I am old.

[Initech]

64. Grab yer pitchforks.

[W_HAMILTON]

65. No shit?

This is why programs like Social Security and Medicare were created.

It's not like the standard of living for the everyday person in the USA has soared through the roof over the past few decades -- it has stagnated.

Most Americans simply don't make enough to save for retirement.

This is why the Republicans should go fuck themselves. These people aren't just being irresponsible, THEY JUST DON'T MAKE ENOUGH TO LIVE ON FOR ~20 YEARS WITHOUT WORKING. How do Republicans expect these people to save for their retirement? The fucking "free" market is the one keeping their wages down so they have to rely on outside help to survive retirement. Maybe they just expect everyone to work till they die?

[Enthusiast]

113. Bullshit!

According to Limbaugh the poor have it far too good in this country. Why they have TVs in every room, air conditioning and they never have to work.

[Vinca]

71. Retirement is overrated - at least that's what I keep telling myself.

Fortunately I don't enjoy travel and hate golf.

[Le Taz Hot]

76. We Boomers will have to rely on each other

and revisit the communal lifestyles that enjoyed a brief resurgence in the 60's. Those of us with homes that are paid off can collect a modest rent that will subsidize mortgage insurance, property taxes, city services and utilities. Veggie gardens can be started or expanded on. When one gets sick there will be others there to care for them. It's the only way we're going to survive this onslaught currently rallying against us.

Oh yeah, and find as many congresscritters as we can get our canes on and threaten them with separation of certain appendages if they even THINK about further cuts to SS and Medicare. We ARE the Boomers, after all.

[Marrah_G]

80. If I stay where I am I can't afford it either

We are planning a move to a small organic off the grid farm in VT in the next few years. That will be the only way I will be able to retire in the future. I have no retirement savings or pensions. We will be growing our own food and relying on solar and natural springs.

[Douglas Carpenter]

81. on a purely personal level that is why I plan to retire in the Philippines and many Americans are

planning retirements in places like Baja California or elsewhere in Mexico or elsewhere in the developing world. The cost of living is a lot, lot cheaper - $1500 per month can provide a very comfortable life. I'm sure this idea will increasingly catch on. It is probably the only way a lot of Americans and probably many other westerners can afford a decent retirement.

[Atypical Liberal]

91. Now we outsource ourselves. :)

I can see lots of people doing this. Of course, it will be an even larger drain on our society, as that SS money will be spent in another country rather than here at home.

[Douglas Carpenter]

92. that may be true- but When one has the choice between being poor in America or comfortable elsewhere

it becomes the most practical and sensible thing for a lot of people to do on the personal level. Besides, life in the so-called third world is a lot more relaxing and pleasant in many ways - especially in societies where the elderly are venerated rather than shunned.

[shanti]

98. i used to consider

retiring someplace tropical or subtropical like mexico or jamaica, but not now with all of the drug and gang violence. my kids also don't like the idea that i could be kidnapped and held for ransom. it's ok though. i'm one of the lucky few who was actually able to retire with a pension (last december) at age 55, the soonest i could do it. when (if-ha) SS is still around in 7 years, i will take that early as well. the budget is tight, but manageable, i am happy, relatively healthy, and that's what matters, isn't it? Give thanks.

Unfortunately, i know far too many boomers who will not be so lucky, including several family members. They never expect to retire. I imagine i will end up taking someone in eventually. We're all going to have to help each other out! :hug:

[Douglas Carpenter]

99. I have a place out in Central Luzon where there is virtually no serious crime whatsoever

Last year some teenagers stole one of the neighbor's ducks. That is about as serious a crime wave as they ever have. There are a lot of places in the tropics that are very quiet and tranquil. But one does have to look around. And one does have to adjust to not having all the conveniences that one finds in more urbane settings. But these days with satellite TV and Internet, once can still remain very much plugged in to the rest of the world.

[Atypical Liberal]

100. Oh, I totally agree with you.

I just find it ironic that we condemn corporations for making outsourcing decisions about their financial survival and then when it comes to our own financial survival we suddenly find it's prudent to do the same thing. Shit gets real when you're talking about your own survival, I guess.

[WatsonT]

82. Remove SS cap

And do something to prevent SS from being raided for funds.

[Uncle Joe]

84. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, OhioChick.

[RebelOne]

85. I am retired now, but not because I wanted to retire.

I was laid off my job in January of 2010. I had been there for 13 years. The company was downsizing and laid off me, my boss and 2 others. I was already 71 years old. I wanted to work just a little longer to get some more money into my 401K. But now I am in forced retirement. I am not too bad off financially.I live in a mobile home that I own. I just pay lot rent of $265 monthly, which includes water and trash and garbage pickup. My car (such as it is) is paid. My only other expenses are utilities, cable and Internet, and car and home insurance. I have been collecting social security since I was 65. So now without that steady salary, I have had to cut back on spending. Otherwise, it will be quite a few years before I have to eat cat food. There is no chance of finding another job at my age.

[nolabels]

86. Retirement? what a stupid concept

Although i would be more than setup for such a thing, i am still pretty sure and hope to kick over with my boots on. I don't mind the feeling of tired, worn and used because when i wake up the next morning i am just thankful i am living another day.


P.S. hoping to live another 48 or more so i will get to see more enlightened day :hi:

[Iwillnevergiveup]

88. Doubling up

My 90 year-old folks have a modest nest egg and take in about $2,200 from S.S. But $450 taken monthly for health care, rent $1,395...well, it suddenly dawned on me. Whichever one of them is left is movin' in with me! Assisted living out of the question - $4,000 a month EACH.

[arrestblankfein]

89. liquidate the assets of Koch and Goldman Sachs-together they have been manipulating everything!

put the money back into social security.


Goldman Sachs' Blankfein Lied Under Oath to Congress http://t.co/YZq8e4J

Didn't they impeach Clinton for that?

On top of everything else, Koch is also responsible for our high gas prices

$4 per gallon gasoline in WI, contango and Koch http://t.co/NqJvOdU

[Enthusiast]

101. A crisis of enormous proportions looms ahead.

Rather than deal with it the nation is focused on terrorism GENERATING foreign entanglements. Real smart.

Cut the military by 60% -NOW!

[barbtries]

102. i expect to be working

until i die.

[Pakid]

112. No surprise their

One has to wonder why so many people vote against their own best interest. The sad part is that they will keep right on voting against they own interest all the way to the grave and bitch about the Democrat the whole time. It makes you wonder!

[Enthusiast]

114. Right!

Welcome to the DU. Please help to convert these stupid voters.

[SheilaT]

115. I read all the posts and

I just can't figure out why no one here seems to have been able to save one red cent.

About thirty years ago in some national magazine (can't recall which one) I read an article about a man who'd stockpiled about two years' worth of food, and now was continuing to maintain the stockpile, simply eating from the oldest stock, while adding new. He was quoted as saying something like, "No matter how little you think you have, just remember that there's someone down the road from you living on $2,000 a year less. Try to live like them."

That has always stuck with me, and I've tried to live below my income ever since.

Yes, I understand the part about houses have lost value, jobs have disappeared, but all around me I see people who bought the absolute largest house they could with an interest-only loan, or absolutely had to have a gigunda SUV that gets maybe 12 miles per gallon. I know that we are surrounded by messages to consume, but we also have our own brains, and could ignore those messages if we chose.

Because of a divorce, my own situation has changed, and I now plan to work to age 70 (I'm 62), and hope I can delay collecting Social Security until that point. Okay, so I won't be able to do the extensive travelling I'd hoped for, an around-the-world cruise is probably not going to happen, I don't often eat out, and I use the library instead of buying books. Meanwhile, I live my little life, enjoy my friends, read books, post on DU, and don't spend a lot of energy fretting about what I can't change.

[DaveJ]

116. "afford retirement" is an ambiguous concept

Even if one has nothing they can still retire in a state run facility, which is what I was prepared to do until recently, when things started to improve for me. We can retire and do nothing and have nothing, sure.

As far as savings go, I think the the question many face is whether to have nothing now, or have nothing when we're 70.

[melm00se]

119. too many

americans "live for the moment" and can't even fathom retirement until the hill is almost too steep to climb.