Many of us won’t be able to retire until our 80s

[OhioChick]

You’ll probably have to work much longer than you anticipated

June 9, 2011, 12:01 a.m. EDT

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- We all think it’s a panacea. If you don’t have enough money saved for retirement, you’ve got a few ways to close the gap between what you have and what you need in your nest egg: Save more, invest more aggressively, and/or work longer.

Well, it turns out that working longer is indeed an option, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute latest study. The only problem is that the latest research shows that you’ll have to work much longer than you anticipated. In fact, many Americans will have to keep on working well into their 70s and 80s to afford retirement, according to the study, titled “The Impact of Deferring Retirement Age on Retirement Income Adequacy.”

What’s more, it’s even worse for low-income workers, according Jack VanDerhei, one of the co-authors of the study. Those who earned (on average over the course of their careers) less than $11,700 per year, the lowest income quartile, would need to defer retirement till age 84 before 90% of those households would have just a 50% chance of affording retirement.

Those who earned between $11,700 and $31,200 will need to work till age 76 to have a 50% chance of covering basic expenses in retirement. Those who earned between $31,200 and $72,500 will need to work to age 72 to have a 50% chance and those who earned more than $72,500, those in the highest income quartile, catch a break; they get stop working at age 65 to have a 50/50 chance of funding their retirement.

More: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/many-of-us-wont-be-able-to-retire-until-our-80s-2011-06-09?link=home_carousel

[Angry Dragon]

1. Most will be dead by then anyway

just look at all the money that will be saved

[amborin]

17. similar to Larry Summer's argument for shipping US toxic waste to 3rd world nations

[elocs]

2. Not this kid. 3 years from now when I'm 62 I'm done

and will only work if I choose. I'm so poor now that the irony is that I will have more money when I retire.

[Buns_of_Fire]

43. I'm with you. Ready or not, here I come.

And, like you, I'll actually see a net INCREASE in my income (if they don't manage to destroy Social Security in the next 600-or-so-days-but-who's-counting?)

[Lifelong Protester]

3. How many people will live that long TO retire?

With all of the programs that the right want to eliminate, no one will be healthy enough to live to their 80s.

[MedicalAdmin]

5. It kinda connects the dots, doesn't it.

Wreck the programs and raise the age you can collect while making it impossible to live that long (in America - the rest of the industrialized world is getting healthier and living longer) and then you will have a big pool of tax money to give away to your cronies and friends.

This countries citizens are so f***ed.

[RebelOne]

4. I was laid off last year.

I am 72 years old. I would still be working if I hadn't been laid off. I wanted to work as long as I could so that I could get more money into my 401K. I have enough money right now to live on for a few years before I have to start eating cat food.

[JDPriestly]

34. You are an exception. Your boss put up with you for longer than most bosses do.

The minute your boss notices that your hands are shaking a bit, or you fall, or you have to have some sort of operation, you are out.

A few people at 70 are still healthy enough to work at the pace that employers now demand of employees, but most of us are not.

The amazing thing for me is how many strange little genetic problems have emerged over the last 15 years -- things I never knew could suddenly impeded my movements or cause illness.

So, if you actually worked and remained in good health until you were 70, wonderful. You are the exception.

[lapislzi]

6. Said it before, I'll say it again

I reserve the right to take myself out at any time. I promise not to be messy.

[Dappleganger]

7. The odds are pretty good that I'll be dead before then.

[barbtries]

8. i don't expect to make it my 80s.

i do, however, expect to be working until the day i die.

[Bennyboy]

9. Pretty sure I'll be working then

At something to pay the bills. I bought into the UNIONS ARE BAD meme in the 70's and 80's and now i got nothing.

[murphyj87]

10. I retired at age 55

I retired at age 55 as do many Canadians. The rest usually retire by age 60 and can get Canada Pension (like your Social Security) at age 60, and Old Age Security Pension (you have nothing like it) at age 65. Canadians will continue to retire at ages between 55 and 60 on into the future, while Americans can't retire until age 70 or even 80. The total of my pensions (Company Pension+CPP+OAS) are equal to what someone would make if they were paid $23 an hour.

[Skittles]

13. thanks for rubbing it in

[librechik]

23. the earlier you retire the better it is for the economy. Opens up jobs for youngsters

Don't try it in a country that hasn't planned for medical care, retirement or clean air and water for its citizens though. Without a social safety net the whole population is condemned.

[spin]

32. I retired just before I turned 60 ...

and I'm American.

I'm not broke but I definitely don't make $23 an hour from my pension and Social Security.

Damn, I knew I should have fled to Canada when they wanted to draft me for the Vietnam war. But I am luckier than most Americans.

edited for spelling

[onethatcares]

35. my dad retired at 55 with 31 years in a union job

he's 86 now and has been collecting 1K a month for those years (UAW). His house was paid off in 1967. He's had either company or pension provided healthcare for himself and my mom who is also retired and collecting a pension from a union job (retail clerks)she's been getting pension checks since 1985. They both collect social security and my dad still works doing some janitorial stuff one or two days a week for a municipality.

Those kind of jobs are the ones the Kochs hate. They'd want us to sleep in the streets before they'd give up one dime to our comfort.

We had a discussion this past weekend after watching some WW2 things on the telly. I said that back then both management and labor went through the same
war and understood each other, and the need for a growing economy for all. I proceeded to tell him that at this point, management are those that don't give a crap about what the lower working people need and if we were to die in the wars, they'd cheer because they will never suffer that type of commonism. He agreed with me.

He said that if anyone were to give his generation a pile of crap, the members of the generation would have kicked some serious ass because after what they saw in the European theatre and the Pacific Islands kicking someones ass was nothing.

[Atman]

11. Here's one of my favorite posts -- from back in Oct, 2006.

AARP Changes Name to Reflect New Societal Trends

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 12, 2006

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) CEO Bill Novelli announced today that the 35 million member organization's Board Of Directors has approved a name change, and will now be known as the American Association of Old People Who Must Work Until They're Dead. In a brief statement before a crowd of geriatric McDonald's workers, Novelli said "We know the new name is a bit clunkier than the old one, but it was determined that under the policies put in place by the Bush administration, the idea of actually being able to retire has become but a distant memory for most Americans."

Novelli noted that many on the board had wanted a simpler acronym, and that the AAFP, or American Association of Fucked People, ran a close second in a member poll, but it was feared the sexual double entendre might cause confusion. "Many of our members are already very confused," Novelli said. "We didn't want to compound their problems, or get their hopes up."

Since George W. Bush took office, pensions, retirement packages and other long-term benefits have all but vanished in America. "Older Americans who are not already cronies of the Bush administration simply no longer have the means to enjoy the traditional notion of retirement, with peaceful days spent enjoying travel, gardening, being able to afford clothing and medication," Novelli continued. It isn't all bad news for seniors, though, according to press material distributed at the event along with a Matchbox car and five-piece order of McNuggets -- McDonalds has agreed to increase it's Senior Discount to 12%, which should help ease some of the financial burdens older Americans face as the ramifications of Bush's policies continue to unfold.

A scheduled question and answer session was cut short when the presentation went longer than expected and 18 year old store manager Lashawn Kravitz told the seniors he would dock their pay if they went beyond their allotted fifteen minute break time.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2383793&mesg_id=2383793

[Skidmore]

14. He needs to add to that proposed name "...Work Until They're Dead

If Someone Will Give Them a Job."

[Atman]

18. LOL! Didn't think of that. Obviously a few things needs updating since 2006.

Remember, those were the days when BushCo would report a 5% unemployment rate one month, then quietly re-adjust the unemployment numbers every damned month. But the unemployment rate ALWAYS stayed at a healthy 5%.

.

[phantom power]

12. What this actually means is, we are returning to the days when old == poor.

Because not many people can actually work that long. And those that can, often can because of modern health care. Which we also won't be able to afford.

[Newest Reality]

15. Well, we all do get to retire ...

and I'm sure that most of us can agree that death is the ultimate form of retirement. Taking an "early" retirement might become a new euphemism.

I think our system and its controllers agree. What we don't get to collect, somebody will get.

[gkhouston]

27. Since we're currently using our retirement savings to avoid losing our house,

that's exactly what it means.

[Waiting For Everyman]

16. This won't help unemployment any either - fewer job openings

if seniors work longer. That's for the seniors who can find or keep work. Mostly it'll be more unemployed older people permanently swelling the numbers and starving.

[JAnthony]

19. What about those of us that retired earlier before Bush blew up the world..

economy, invaded Iraq, etc. etc. etc. all the way....

I am still in my 60's, have half of what I had in investments EVEN TODAY, than I had when I retired.

If I live until I am 90, I will be living on Social Security ONLY, the rest will be gone, my house will be gone to pay for another few years of living on limited income, etc.

Bush fucked millions of us retirees and now the rest of the Republicans want to rape us all once again, and they want big paychecks for raping us!!.

Richest nation in the world, pays the teachers and other public employees so little, screws over the elderly, threatens those in their 40's and early 50's with no chance to retire now...

If our nation continues to be governed by the likes of the Republican House membership, who will kick all our middle class workers to the curb and run over them with a bus, then our nation deserves to lose its place as the richest and most prosperous nation in the world.

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. I intend to retire at the earliest possible moment -

and between SS, my devasted 401k, and my state retirement I'll be able to do it. But I'm not planning on a 25 year retirement. Both my parents have Alzheimers, so I reckon I'll be lucky to hit 15 years after retirement - and if I'm diagnosed with it I will cut my retirement even shorter. I have no intention to spend my last five years the way my father did.

[felix_numinous]

21. Where's our imagination?

I say start up Baby Boomer Communes everywhere, with community gardens, green living, good music and art, that potentially could be productive. Bee keeping, crafts, services could make it money.

I say don't just lay down and just take it!!!! C'mon where's our fire?

I say, we have been totally mindf*cked if we believe there are no alternatives than to die in this broken system.

[hamsterjill]

29. I seriously think this is the answer.

Like "The Golden Girls" sitcom, but more imaginative.

[KittyWampus]

41. I absolutely love your post and agree 100%. And do it under the auspices of a religious affiliation

to get tax free status.

[felix_numinous]

44. Great idea, but religion makes me cringe too much these days.

There must be other ways for a tax write off?

[librechik]

22. My 80 year old mother tells me she receives $367/ month on SS

and has to pay $98 of that to Medicare. Sure opened my eyes about relying on social security as a retirement stipend. I guess I'm screwed. Probly the rest of us, too.

[RebelOne]

28. I don't understand how she is receiving so little.

I receive $1,400 a month, and out of that I pay $110 for Medicare.

[librechik]

36. Not sure, I know she gets a pension from my dad's union, so maybe that's why.

I'll have to ask her.

[drpepper67]

38. I think your payment is based on what you paid in.

So if you never paid in much, you don't get much.

I have a family member who thought they gamed the system by not reporting income and paying taxes. They found out when they wanted SS they only screwed themselves.

[Obamanaut]

30. Can your mom get the amount recomputed based on her husband's

social security (if he is deceased)

My MIL did that when FIL died. It wasn't a whole lot - she still only receives a little under $600/month, but it's more than her SS was prior to his passing.

edited to add this link I just read - it is a bit confusing to me, but perhaps you can decipher it It is NOT from the SS website though

http://moneyover55.about.com/od/socialsecuritybenefits/a/socialsecurityspousebenefit.htm

[HughBeaumont]

24. I will NOT work past 60-62, money be damned.

My golden years will be MINE, not some corporation's. Comes a time where you're just not going to physically or mentally be able to get up at 5-6 AM, commute to work and grind what remaining soul you have left to make money for someone else for 10 hours a day.

With no house payment to make in 19 years time, bills wil be far less (I bought a cheapo house). At that age, I'll just do what I want for a living and just live simpler and on the cheap.

[KittyWampus]

42. Ah, but you'll still be working! "i'll just do what I want for a living"

and I say you're going about it in the best way. Although I also like the idea of "Boomer Communes". :)

[Javaman]

25. I have my casket under my desk, because I plan on dying here. nt

[taught_me_patience]

26. I plan to retire at 52

I'm working hard and saving money to make that possible.

[ChazII]

31. +1

I have been putting $ into an IRA since 1985. I also have some modest stock and bonds that my mother left me when she passed away. She bought a $100 EE bond a a month since 1980 and passed in 2001.

[JDPriestly]

33. That is probably a fantasy.

You see, when you are only 50, your mind may be willing to work until you are 80. But your body probably will not cooperate as well as you think.

[drpepper67]

37. No one can keep you from planning for your own retirement.

If you failed to plan then I don't know what to tell you.

[RadiationTherapy]

39. I will retire to jail fast as a muddahfuggah.

Feed me, maaffockers!!

These people do NOT know WTF we are capable of. I will be an old assed gangsta with no remorse.

[KittyWampus]

40. My grandparents didn't. My father isn't.