Retirement article

[deserat]

Is There a Retirement Crisis? by Nicole Gelinas, City Journal Autumn 2011

Most interesting to me was the percentage of households without debt had remained at 13% steady over 20 years. The rest is an interesting compilation of stats with some suggestions on how to get out of a hole for upcoming retirees - work more!!!!!

 

[Brett_Cameron]

Well written article. Thanks!

 

[justplainbll]

The article does little to reassure the apparent minority who has saved adequate resources to finance their retirement years. To me it implies that the haves will be further called upon to sacrifice for the benefit of those who have not. Although it touts the virtues of thrift and planning it does little to address the political reality of a government imposed trend towards income and wealth redistribution.

 

[Lsbcal]

One comment, with rates much lower now a retiree with a mortgage has gotten a great break on refinancing. The comparison should not really be on debt loads but rather on the average monthly mortgage as a percent of expenses.

 

[ziggy29]

The article does little to reassure the apparent minority who has saved adequate resources to finance their retirement years. To me it implies that the haves will be further called upon to sacrifice for the benefit of those who have not. Although it touts the virtues of thrift and planning it does little to address the political reality of a government imposed trend towards income and wealth redistribution.

But on the other hand, we need to understand that the "retirement crisis" and the "unemployment crisis" are very much linked, because the less people are able to retire, the higher unemployment remains since the usual backfilling of new job openings from retirements dries up. And from a public policy viewpoint, I think it's a mistake to look at these as completely separate issues. The less people can retire, the more "the haves" who "saved adequate resources" will have to pay taxes for benefits to the larger ranks of the unemployed anyway. So what have you lost, really?

 

[fritz]

The article seems to finger the Baby Boomers and points out that by 2050 the over age 65 population will comprise +/-20% of the population (up from +/-13%). According to the US Census Bureau (2008), these figures correlate - however even the youngest of the Baby Boomers (1946-1964) will be over age 85 (or dead) in 2050, and the +85 age group will just be 19 million of the 89 million over 65 age group (and less than 4% of the projected 2050 population of 439 million).

The City Journal article (part of the Manhattan Institute which is sponsored by conservatives like the Koch foundation) doesn't really touch on American Businesses having quickly thrown the Defined Benefits retirement scenario under the bus (so to say) with little to no government oversight. This has left employees having to fend for themselves with their retirement planning. They have received little (or none) guidance with retirement planning from either government/education or where they work. This scenario has been (and still is) sort of a work in progress - is there any wonder why there is such a retirement dilemma in this country?

 

[Nords]

Ants. Grasshoppers. Perpetual debates.

 

[justplainbll]

Ants. Grasshoppers. Perpetual debates.

but the grasshopper seems to be becoming more fashionable

 

[M Paquette]

but the grasshopper seems to be becoming more fashionable

Delicious! And high in protein,too...


Cue Jonathon Swift...

 

[ikubak]

Stock market returns, confidence in the economy, and interest rates all affect the unemployment rate. I know at least two people that would be willing to retire and make way for some unemployed folks to enter the workforce if the markets weren't so schizzo and bonds were paying a little better.

 

[grasshopper]

Hey, cut it out with the tasty Grasshopper stuff!!!!!

 

[ziggy29]

The article seems to finger the Baby Boomers...

I take all Boomer-centered predictions about the economy, the financial markets and demographic trends with a HUGE grain of salt.

Anyone else remember the predictions a few years back which claimed that come 2010 (give or take), we were going to have a "help wanted" crisis because too many boomers were going to retire and there weren't enough younger people to backfill the positions they vacated?

Oops.

 

[REWahoo]

Anyone else remember the predictions a few years back which claimed that come 2010 (give or take), we were going to have a "help wanted" crisis because too many boomers were going to retire and there weren't enough younger people to backfill the positions they vacated?

Here's a 2008 govt report on the looming labor shortage. My old company spent quite a bit of time and money developing a contingency plan to handle the crisis.

 

[Independent]

Lots of well chosen facts, but I can't agree with the only recommendation (that the government should do more with the tax code to "encourage saving").

Social Security provides a floor of protection for all workers. If people want to save so they can spend more than SS, that's fine with me. If people would rather consume today and just live on SS if they get old, that's fine, too.

My guess is that most people will save about the same amount with or without the tax breaks. All we accomplish with this alphabet soup of retirement programs is to complicate the tax code.

 

[Nords]

Here's a 2008 govt report on the looming labor shortage. My old company spent quite a bit of time and money developing a contingency plan to handle the crisis.

So, the allotment of labor to develop a contingency plan for a labor shortage inadvertently created a labor shortage?

Bet nobody saw that one coming...

 

[mh]

So, the allotment of labor to develop a contingency plan for a labor shortage inadvertently created a labor shortage?

Bet nobody saw that one coming...

That sounds like something right out of one of the old "Yes Minister" programs..

 

[deserat]

That sounds like something right out of one of the old "Yes Minister" programs..

I'm going to hijack my own thread......Great show - Yes Prime Minister was great, too. Love those Brits and their twist on the English language....

 

[IBWino]

Here's a 2008 govt report on the looming labor shortage. My old company spent quite a bit of time and money developing a contingency plan to handle the crisis.

Hmmm...was their contingency plan to start a great recession?

 

[REWahoo]

Hmmm...was their contingency plan to start a great recession?

They had a choice of that or a fertility clinic. They figured either option would result in a bunch of folks getting screwed...

 

[IBWino]

They had a choice of that or a fertility clinic. They figured either option would result in a bunch of folks getting screwed...

Well, personally, I wish their coin flip would have come up tails.

 

[ziggy29]

Hmmm...was their contingency plan to start a great recession?

Well, it did save them a lot on labor costs, no doubt...

 

[REWahoo]

<rimshot>
<rimshot>

 

[packrat44]

but the grasshopper seems to be becoming more fashionable

Bring on the seagulls.

 

[Alan]

That sounds like something right out of one of the old "Yes Minister" programs..

I'm going to hijack my own thread......Great show - Yes Prime Minister was great, too. Love those Brits and their twist on the English language....

I got both DVD sets for Christmas last year and the sad thing is that they are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago. Having watched them all again, nothing has changed.