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Boomers still not smart
Old 06-18-2009, 12:00 PM   #1
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Boomers still not smart

Many of my fellow boomers seem to be, once again, making some very poor investment decisions that will make them look to Uncle Sam even more in the yeas to come. No doubt, my future federal income tax will be paying for their retirement as well as mine.

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Thus, as the recent AARP survey showed, 35% of those between the ages of 45 and 54 have stopped 401(k), IRA and other retirement account contributions. Twenty-five percent have withdrawn money from a retirement account, 56% have postponed a major purchase and 24% are planning to retire at a later age.
Boomers Face Longer Years of Work, More Meager Lifestyle
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:02 PM   #2
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I'm convinced.
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:04 PM   #3
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No arguments here.
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:29 PM   #4
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Hey, easy now! Some boomers are 'samrt' enough to realize what a ripoff those evil 401k plans are...

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...nes-44817.html
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:31 PM   #5
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How about the part of the quote that you didn't put in bold?
Delaying major purchases does seem to be a 'smart' thing to do.
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:32 PM   #6
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I think it's so sad. Makes me wish I could draft a realistic budget for each of them and make them stick to it and like doing it! But you can't change people.

So many of my boomer generation came to regard all the trappings of yuppiedom as necessities of life. They would feel like failures living a modest but reasonable lifestyle that half the world would envy.
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:37 PM   #7
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:38 PM   #8
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Kids these days!


Hey wait a minute, that's my generation!
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:43 PM   #9
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If this happened to a younger generation, I suppose the question would be "Dude, where's my safety net?"
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:51 PM   #10
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Actually, boomers delaying retirement is not a bad thing. The additional years worked mean more payroll taxes and more income tax on SS distributions. It also means more competition in the labor force, which will help control inflation.
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:54 PM   #11
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It also means more competition in the labor force, which will help control inflation.
And increase the unemployment rate, meaning more tax money going out for unemployment benefits.

Plus, with age discrimination as rampant as it is (particularly over 50), I am skeptical of the modern economy's ability to keep the older segment of the work force fully employed.
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"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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Old 06-18-2009, 02:26 PM   #12
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And increase the unemployment rate, meaning more tax money going out for unemployment benefits.
At lower wage levels more jobs become available. More so for folks over age 65 - no medical benefits needed.
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Plus, with age discrimination as rampant as it is (particularly over 50), I am skeptical of the modern economy's ability to keep the older segment of the work force fully employed.
Welcome to Wal-Mart. No smilie - it's really quite tragic, but also likely.
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Old 06-18-2009, 05:08 PM   #13
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Yeah, this one is one of those that's a tragedy for those involved, but probably good for me personally. Keep those payroll taxes coming!
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Old 06-18-2009, 05:20 PM   #14
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I think it's so sad. Makes me wish I could draft a realistic budget for each of them and make them stick to it and like doing it! But you can't change people.
Yup.

I know two people that I can actually reach out and touch that will discuss financial matters.

Soooo...I spend a lot of time here rattling on to strangers that have a common interest.
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Old 06-18-2009, 05:23 PM   #15
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LIke many AARP articles this one seems weak to me. It acknowledged that 9 percent of the people in the 45 and older age group have lost their jobs in the last year, so I'm not surprised that those people, of the 35 percent cited, are no longer contributing to retirement plans.

The article also says "...they are gearing up to work longer, set aside more now and live a more modest lifestyle..." So perhaps they are not contributing any more to a retirement plan because they are paying off debt instead, or building an emergency fund, or in some other way "setting aside more now" outside their retirement accounts?

And the horror of "living a more modest lifestyle"! Those crazy boomers, what will they be doing next?
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Old 06-18-2009, 05:38 PM   #16
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And the horror of "living a more modest lifestyle"! Those crazy boomers, what will they be doing next?
It's even sillier than that, IMO. The best time to learn to live a "more modest lifestyle" is while you're still w*rking. That will help provide a sanity check with respect to how much you really need to retire, and whether or not your plans to give notice are realistic.

I suspect some people don't do this and underestimate what they need to retire. These are the folks who are forced back into looking for w*rk in their 50s and 60s when they're likely to face rampant age discrimination.
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Old 06-19-2009, 08:54 AM   #17
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The Financial Planning article in the OP refers to an "AARP survey", but doesn't provide any link. I looked at the AARP website and didn't see anything that seemed to match this article.

IMO, it's hard to say whether these are bad decisions without knowing more about the details. If you or your spouse have been fired, it could make a lot of sense to stop making 401k contributions.
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Old 06-19-2009, 08:59 AM   #18
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Actually, boomers delaying retirement is not a bad thing. The additional years worked mean more payroll taxes and more income tax on SS distributions. It also means more competition in the labor force, which will help control inflation.
Ditto MichaelB! I'm delighted to see so many of my generation feel that they have to keep working so they can keep buying all that stuff! All those extra taxes they pay is a great side benefit (for the rest of us).

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Old 06-19-2009, 09:02 AM   #19
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Ditto MichaelB! I'm delighted to see so many of my generation feel that they have to keep working so they can keep buying all that stuff! All those extra taxes they pay is a great side benefit (for the rest of us).

Audrey

Well. I'm hoping they got enough jobs for them all.
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Old 06-19-2009, 09:23 AM   #20
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Well. I'm hoping they got enough jobs for them all.
Well, I guess I had better hope so too! At one time it sure looked like there were - we were running really low unemployment numbers for a long time. And there have been lots of fears of not enough workers in the future due to low population growth so I've tended to believe older workers will be needed. Maybe this current high unemployment won't last that long.

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