Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire There’s No Quick Fix for This Alarming Retirement Dilemma

There’s No Quick Fix for This Alarming Retirement Dilemma

By Steve McDonald, Bond Strategist,
The Oxford Club
Tuesday, May 17, 2016

This is your once-a-quarter “wake up and smell the roses” Two-Minute Retirement Solution. I do this only four times a year because I get too depressed looking at these numbers.

There are now around 40 million seniors in this country; one in six is living below the poverty level. That’s about 6.5 million people. To put that number into perspective, that’s roughly the population of Massachusetts.

And last year, half of all retired boomers reported that their personal financial situations were deteriorating.

By 2050, there will be 90 million seniors. There is no estimate of how many will be living in poverty.

Between 1985 and 2010, the number of 65- to 70-year-olds working for a paycheck almost doubled. And almost three-fourths of all Americans now plan to work in retirement.

Most, I am sure, have not yet accepted the fact that the jobs will not be there for them.

Over half of those entering retirement carry significant debt and have higher credit card balances than younger Americans. And the number of bankruptcies increased 178% since 1991. That’s only 25 years.

In 1945, there were 42 people working for every one collecting SSA benefits. Today, there are only 2.5 contributing for every one collecting.

In about 20 years, the number of people receiving Social Security benefits will increase from 61 million to 91 million. That’s almost 50% more.

The average check from Social Security is around $1,200 a month, and most U.S. workers have $25,000 or less in savings of any kind. If they withdraw equal amounts from their $25,000 for 15 years in retirement, their weekly income goes up by just $32.

Try living on $332 a week!

And we haven’t even touched on Medicare.

By 2025, the number of people receiving Medicare benefits will increase almost 50%, from 50 million to 73 million.

The program faces unfunded liabilities of more than $38 trillion over the next 75 years. That comes to approximately $328,404 for each household in the United States.

And the only solution on the table for any of these issues is to increase the retirement age to 70. And, as all solutions now seem to do, it falls entirely on the backs of the folks coming behind us, not the boomers.

Living on $300 a week for 20 or 30 years and leaving the mess for our kids. That’s not how things should be done.

Save more, spend less and pay off your debt.

Try to have a good week.

Good investing,

Steve

Don't forget a lot of us are not physically or mentally able to work to 70; wages have gone down for a lot of us; the cost of living has gone up (one dependable transportation vehicle, food, and a safe home, not living in your winery); and they spent all the money and lied to us about the interest we could have earned.

Also, a lot of peope dont live to draw2 anything, just lost a friend at 64.

The number one biggest asset you have is time. That is, if you are now under the age of 40. If you are over 50, time is your biggest liability.

The sooner you start saving the better off you'll be; the later you start... well, welcome to $322 a week.

which is why Bernie is so appealing to those who are facing living on a fixed government income

1300 a month. Neither of us brings home a lot more than that.

The problem with living is that folks think they have to live like kings.

1350 would be tough, but by retirement time everything you have is well paid off and the only things you have are utilites, food and fun. And fun involves vehicle expenses too.

Tough but it can be done.

The young ones need to save more! Obviously because .gov and life have demanded such, and that we take more to pay for others.

Me... I"m still in the groove, and if I run out of money, then .gov can take care of me or i'll take care of them. LOL.

Worse, the Fed is deliberately keeping interest rates so low that people cannot build up enough savings for retirement. They're forced into risky investments which will likely collapse like a bubble some day.

I'm surprised that the Millenials are not setting up guillotines in Washington. Perhaps their support for Sanders is their way of doing that.

People make choices in life, sometimes that choice it to be stupid. Other peoples failures should never be my problem.

pensions versus 401K have made this a problem as well.

One place to start that won't make much difference but will make us all feel better is to divert the pensions of those who have caused most of the problems into the social security fund. Congress and the administration have caused it, let their pensions go to help fix it.

Ease our tax burden and we could save more.

I've always believed that once a person hits 60, they shouldn't have to pay taxes, period... they've paid an entire life time into them already...

then you have plenty of people who never contributed one thing to the economy of this nation, and spend an entire life time being supported by the government and never paying any taxes....

What's wrong with this picture? Nothing if you're a democRAT.

I've been thinking, maybe Washington Oregon and Colorado have legalized Marijuana, to give all of these old hippies something to supplement their Social Security Checks....

That's the answer.. old people need to start growing Marijuana, and get into the recreational pharmaceutical business...

When I retire I want to build a margarita cart and push it up and down the beach. I'll get exercise, meet happy people on vacation, see pretty girls in bikinis and have an all cash business with no register. What's not to like about a retirement job like that??

How's that?

Problem: pretty girls in bikinis? Where they going to put the cash? Gonna have to take debit card.

This doesn't concern me for a couple of reasons.

One......I've known for more than 30 years this is where we were headed so like an alarmist Ive been preparing even though most folks and I mean MOST now finally realize I'm actually a REALIST!

My 14 acre ranch along with everything else I have is paid for in CASH! I've not relied on bank loans ever for one dam thing. In fact I don't finance anything.

What has this done for me. Well the truth is.....most folks spend 100s of thousands of dollars in interest over a lifetime. The fact that I've never done that ever has put ME around $200,000 ahead of most of my known compadres!

That $200,000 is why I am free and clear at age 48 with a nice big garden, comfortable vehicles to drive, and semi retired, living comfortable as can be working 2 months out of the year.

If you allow yourself to get sucked into THERE line of TRAINING.....because that's what they DO! They train you, you will be a sorry SAP when there done with you. When I say they.....I'm talking about the powers that be.

My recommendation is.....live simple, work hard, pay cash!




Shod

For many folks, myself included, paying cash is just plain dumb.

So you think high interest rates are the answer?

Low to no interest rates destroy the savers.
Saving used to be a good strategy for unsophisticated people.
Now they are forced into the ponzi scheme and more than likely will be fleeced of their money,

Low interest rates allow the Federal Government to finance its enormous debt at a "relatively" lower cost - as compared to the historically higher interest rate.

Never saw the time where paying cash was was dumb for us, but can realize that it can happen.

Just happier to be set like Shod basically, all paid for, never paid a dime in interest, and so on. Not retired yet, but working hard on semi retire and just enjoy it best we can.

Paying interest instead of paying off just never made sense to me.

Of course if you could pay 10% and make 18% it would.