another gloomy retirement article

[athena53]

Neither my brothers nor I ever asked our parents for a dime, nor would we have received anything had we asked. We were expected to function as full grown adults and pay our own way, once we were around age 18.

My parents gave us to age 22 and paid for college! Same thing, though. It was expected that you'd find a way to make a living and all 5 of us did. There may have been some down-payment loans for the first house- I know I had one and paid it back- but AFAIK, that was it. DS has been the same- hasn't asked for a dime since he got his first FT job 4 months after graduation. He has since replaced a totalled car, bought a house, and is married with 2 little girls. I'm very grateful.

 

[kcowan]

DW and I are both from families where the other sibling leached of our parents as long as possible. IMHO the siblings both ended up poorer as a result. IOW the parents did them no favor.

Yet the parents felt they did the right thing and would never discuss with us.

 

[Nemo2]

DW and I are both from families where the other sibling leached of our parents as long as possible. IMHO the siblings both ended up poorer as a result. IOW the parents did them no favor.

Yet the parents felt they did the right thing and would never discuss with us.

DW agrees with this.....her brother, (et famille), we fear are in for rude awakenings when the oldies pass.

 

[imoldernu]

A little harder to look at numbers when your "lookback" is nearly 30 years, or in the case of marriage... 60 years.
So, in 1958, college graduation, then two months later, marriage, then 9 months and two weeks after marriage, first son born... then over the next ten years, three more sons.
First job 2nd Lt. U.S. Army Infantry...$220/month.
After 6 years with Sears, and 18 years w/ Montgomery Ward, topped out salary in 1984 was $49,500/yr. (w/CPI inflation works out to $120K today.)
3 of four kids, college, mostly paid for by them...
5 years my own business, (no $$$ gain or loss),then retirement @age 53.

It's hard to relate to numbers any more. I have no idea why I'm posting this, except that I think I may qualify as "old".

 

[REWahoo]

... then two months later, marriage, then 9 months and two weeks after marriage, first son born...

It's hard to relate to numbers any more. I have no idea why I'm posting this, except that I think I may qualify as "old".

Yep. Hard for us seasoned citizens to wrap our heads around the fact numbers like you quote above are no longer relevant.

 

[GravitySucks]

The Washington Post is now the Amazon Post. Retirees must have the same disposable income as workers to keep buying more cr@p online.
I retired early thinking I would need to live off about half what I was living on but not being chained to a desk filling TPS reports. It was well worth the trade even though my Amazon account is not as active.
In Bar Harbor I ate pop overs and tea where John D Rockefeller did for $8. Didn't waste any money looking at rich people's houses.

 

[beowulf]

First job 2nd Lt. U.S. Army Infantry...$220/month.

First job after college - 2nd LT U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1970 - base pay $417 a month. Geez, it took 11 years for base pay to double? And I was actually happy with that. Low expenses .

 

[kcowan]

DW agrees with this.....her brother, (et famille), we fear are in for rude awakenings when the oldies pass.

Ironically, both the siblings died "young"! Maybe surviving without the safety net was too much for them?

 

[ncbill]

First job after college - 2nd LT U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1970 - base pay $417 a month. Geez, it took 11 years for base pay to double? And I was actually happy with that. Low expenses .

DS's current pay rate is 35% of O-1 base pay, which is still over $1000/month.

 

[beowulf]

Just looked up the 0-1 pay for 2017. $3034 base pay, $984 housing allowance and $254 subsistence allowance. Total being $4272 a month. The higher level officer pay grades are truly impressive. And our military deserves it.

 

[ncbill]

Just looked up the 0-1 pay for 2017. $3034 base pay, $984 housing allowance and $254 subsistence allowance. Total being $4272 a month. The higher level officer pay grades are truly impressive. And our military deserves it.

DS wants to attend our local med school after graduation/commissioning.
(assuming he is accepted and Uncle Sam agrees to pay for it)

Offered him his old room as long as he pays me his housing allowance.

 

[athena53]

Different article, same spin. Seventy-two percent of seniors, apparently, have found retirement to be what they expected, or better. The headline? "Over a quarter of seniors say retirement is worse than expected". The reasons, of course, are no surprise- SS and Medicare were less generous than they expected.

Over a quarter of seniors say retirement is worse than they expected

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

DS wants to attend our local med school after graduation/commissioning.
(assuming he is accepted and Uncle Sam agrees to pay for it)

Offered him his old room as long as he pays me his housing allowance.

Oh, Uncle Sugar might pay for it up front, but HE WILL get it back...a nickel at a time!

 

[ncbill]

Oh, Uncle Sugar might pay for it up front, but HE WILL get it back...a nickel at a time!

Well, he's already under contract for the next several years, regardless of where he ends up.

Med school just extends that to the point he might as well go career...

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Well, he's already under contract for the next several years, regardless of where he ends up.

Med school just extends that to the point he might as well go career...

Obviously, this is a very personal decision, and there are SOOO many variables, but I can say without fail that hanging around until I could retire was one of the SMARTEST things I did in life. The pension is great, but the healthcare costs (or lack thereof) is what has sealed the deal for early retirement. I tell myself that Uncle Sugar got his money's worth out of me, but if I live to 100, then I think my ROI will be very, VERY good!

 

[karen1972]

A cousin posted today a question on Facebook "What percent are you saving?" I can say the answers are not very heartening...

so far 5 say "nothing, live for today", 3 gave a I save what I can which appears to be 3% to match their 401k, and 2 people that were 10 and 15%. These are 30/40 years olds in the midwest.

The live for today mantra to me seems to be growing, it shows in the fact that credit card debt is still on the rise even with unemployment being lower... scary.

 

[griffithee]

Obviously, this is a very personal decision, and there are SOOO many variables, but I can say without fail that hanging around until I could retire was one of the SMARTEST things I did in life. The pension is great, but the healthcare costs (or lack thereof) is what has sealed the deal for early retirement. I tell myself that Uncle Sugar got his money's worth out of me, but if I live to 100, then I think my ROI will be very, VERY good!

You're darn tootin!!! The DW and I are both retired. Me as an Ogainger and her from the enlisted side. And our pension and compensation keep us from going to the poor house.

By my good uncle did get his pound of flesh from both of us.... and then some. No regrets though.

 

[beowulf]

You're darn tootin!!! The DW and I are both retired. Me as an Ogainger.

OK, I'll bite. What's an Ogainger? 23 years Army officer, remainder of career with OSD as a fed civilian and I never heard that term. I assume it means officer, but in what context?

 

[griffithee]

On a ship if you are a member of the Auxillary department you are considering part of the "A-gang"... And yes, I was an officer or a member of the "O-gang".

 

[rayinpenn]

Different article, same spin. Seventy-two percent of seniors, apparently, have found retirement to be what they expected, or better. The headline? "Over a quarter of seniors say retirement is worse than expected". The reasons, of course, are no surprise- SS and Medicare were less generous than they expected.

Over a quarter of seniors say retirement is worse than they expected

Skimmed the article

Summary - Roughly a quarter of retirees are unhappy because they didn’t save enough - what a revelation I would never had guessed!

It has been my observation that some people are inclined to be happy while others look at that dam cup as half empty. Should we be surprised it is any different in retirement?