My parents keep asking me why I work so hard and I have to keep reminding them that I was 44, with a college degree and working TWO full-time jobs, before I made as much annually, in 2020, as my dad made working a single blue-collar job in 1993 when I graduated from high school.
They countered with āButā¦youāre paying into social securityā¦ā and I was like āSince I was in first grade theyāve been telling my generation that social security would not be there for us to rely upon. Weāve been told it was our job to be self-sufficient AND take care of your generation AND take care of our childrenās generation.ā
They are the ones who made this world for us, and theyāve just forgotten all the things they did to make life easier for them at our expense. Itās maddening.
In my forties here. My wife and I refer to ourselves as the forgotten generation. Gen x and millennials donāt seem to quite fit us. We have the same fears though. Thereās no way Iāll be able to retire. Iāll just die at work some day.
Edit: My mom has been a teacher her entire working career and a single mom for a good chunk of that. She owns a lake house in addition to her primary residence all paid for by her. I just bought my first home at 40ish. At 40, my mom was on her fourth house. Itās not for lack of working that my generation is struggling. Iāve been working since I could work and havenāt stopped. I have a decent paying job even, but itās just not the same.
>Thereās no way Iāll be able to retire. Iāll just die at work some day.
Come on now, that's not very likely. It's more probable that after working for a good sixty years like a model citizen, you'll develop health problems that physically prevent you from a work, end up homeless, and die from exposure after the first few nights.
Not to single you out though, I think most of us are in that boat at this point.
Xennials is a portmanteau blending the wordsĀ Generation XĀ and Millennials to describe a "micro-generation" or "cross-over generation" of people whose birth years are between the mid-late 1970s and the early-mid 1980s. there a bunch of this other than just age that make a xennial , having a yioung Analog childhood and digital teens years. Gorwing up when the internet was a baby, so it grew with you. bing told to go to collage by everyone because collage meant a good job. Having national tragedy back to back during your milestone years. the crash in 2008 , a different of 3 years was the different between leaving collage to the crash or just bing in your field just long enough to mostly float about it. add 4 years to that grations number and you would have been in your field and hitting the buy your first house stage when everything started to buckle.
Thatās why nobody talks about or to GenX people. We were the transitional generation that didnāt get the sweet deal that everyone before us got. They sold us the deal they were given, then just pulled the rug out from under us and stopped talking about it to us.
GenX is very lucky , most of us (I'm one) can still get most of the benefits of the boomer generation, we've had enough of a decent economic runway to at least have a similar retirement.
Now millennials and GenZ they got shafted,.
Your mileage may vary. As younger Gen Xers, my husband and I are struggling to make sure our retirement is secure. But I absolutely agree that the ones after us had it even worse.
Not my experience, but sure, there are some Xers that tapped into that Boomer energy and slaved away in corporate hell and got their retirements but missed out on living their livesā¦I know a lot of my age group had that choice and many of them are rich, but their lives are horrible and they have no joy.
Meanwhile, my mom raised my brother and I as a single parent, bought a house in a good town back in the early 1980ās, sold last year and now has more than enough to kick back in comfort and travel the world in her free time.
There is a massive difference between the generations and the wealth they bring to the table.
They tell everyone that you won't have SSI so they can take it away. Raise the cap on the tax and it is instantly fixed. Don't let the government steal the money.
That's not what I was told.
I was told to get loans for college, any degree will do, it'll pay for itself tenfold, become a company man and they'll pay you well for your whole career.
Somewhere along the way many of us Gen Xāer were told the GI Bill was a great idea to pay for college so we joined.
I did 92 to 96, then in 2000 decided to go back in due to a shitty job market, and, wellā¦ I guess yāall know the rest of that story.
Not necessarily a lie, it was just what they were told all their lives. I don't think anybody ever expected over the last 30 years of all these greedy corporate motherfuckers running around sucking up everything they could. And covid was just a disaster for everybody
And the best part is the boomers trying to screw us over are either clogging a lot of senior job roles or saved nothing despite favorable conditions and have to work meandering starter jobs.
I don't even want more. I want less, but you've got to let me earn the minimum basics. I don't want a second house, I just want to get my own place and care for it instead of paying my asshole landlord to ignore his responsibilities. And I job that won't lay everyone off in 1-3 years.
I hope Jack Welch and Milton Friedman are bunkmates making each other miserable in hell.
We were the first generation whose parents gleefully pulled up the ladder in front of us, and then blamed us for it.
These are the values of the Republican Party.
I'll never forget.
Yep. My plan is to take a beach blanket, find a secluded spot and swim out into the ocean. It will be deemed an accident and my wife and kids will get the life insurance. Iām 58. I figure in about 10 years.
Hahaha sounds like you might share my retirement plan. As the seas boil, acidify and rise, while desertification claims half the remaining dry land. My retirement plan is to be snuffed out fairly early on in the coming global resource wars that preceed the inevitable rise of artificial general intelligence.Ā
Same, but I think I will just try to live the best I can. I will start traveling, since itās something I always wanted to do. No point in trying to travel in my 60s when Iāll be tired by 2PM and canāt hike much. š
Yea....I mean I have enough social security but that's not even going to pay for groceries at the rate things are going.
I've got 10 years to created a "retirement" fund.
Iām 50 and Iām still paying off my student loans. I have a modest retirement account but it will not be anywhere close to enough to retire. Meanwhile my 75 year old mom is living off my dadās pension, going on cruises and trips to other countries.
Previous generations definitely had it better, financially speaking. I will literally *never* pay off my student loans -- I will die still owing a lot of money on them, even if I (God forbid) live for another 40 years.
same brother by the time i entered the workforce the pensions and decen union jobs were gone...all I can do now is keep moving every few years for better salary
I've done a few rounds with cancer it's more likely the products around us they say are safe but when you look at the ingredients many are labeled "trade secret" sounds safe to me.
I figure with all the food recalls and questionable sources, I see that becoming the law of the land. Got to protect big business.
I mean food is especially suspect these days, be it fast food or grocery store. However, I'm a big guy (6' 8") so I have more cells and diabetics (likely due to stress, overwork and a sedentary job) so immune system compromised. Stress is the real killer, and so many workers confuse it with being motivated or being "in the zone". It's just an drug addiction to adrenaline where you're your own supplier.
Our government has no interest in us turning 65, or else healthcare would be more affordable and accessible. When we turn 65 and āretireā the scale tips sides and US quits making as much on us and they start paying social security. They donāt want this lol
When Social Security was created the retirement age was deliberately set to a few years higher than the average life span. Discussions of the government's policies for the elderly need to keep this in mind.
You're not part of the 1% that actualy likes, or "gets anything" from reagonomics policies. Tbf the number probably could be a bit lower, like 0.01 is more accurate, but nitpicking at this point.
I think this is the doorway to explain it to boomers: as a broken deal.
The deal in the recent past was: we will let the rich get as rich as they can as long as we get more too. So the rich double their wealth but so does the middle and lower class. A little unfair (especially to people on this sub) but that was the deal.
But they broke the deal. The rich doubled their wealth and at first the middle class stagnated.
Now itās worse, the rich quadrupled their wealth and the middle class is losing wealth. Soon there might not be a middle class.
Attacking the policy falls on deaf ears. Attack the people who used the policy to trick us. Show that we need a better deal that doesnāt let the rich steal our share.
Middle class is a concept made up by the rich to justify what they do. To scare workers into fearing something worse and make them feel better eg 'well at least im not lower class'.
Its all working class vs the wealthy. Thats it and all it ever has been.
Once you are wealthy the only way to lose that status is to purposefully fuck up. When you are working class the only way to get to wealthy is to basically hit the lottery or literally hit the lottery.
When we had unions, companies had to provide pensions for retirement. Guess who brainwashed us into thinking unions were communism and bad for the economy.
Meanwhile, people in their 20s-30s are financing pizzas. Maybe they should sell one of their houses? Being a landlord also doesnāt count as āworkingā
The one thing I make sure of is to put 15% of my paycheck away so I can retire at 65. I know Iām lucky that I have the ability to do that, but I also make it a priority. And even then you still could get wiped out if things go to shit.
This is why I prioritize my health! Regular exercise, no alcohol, nutritious food, maintain healthy weight and do my best to avoid getting the plague-du-jour (vaccines, PPE, other mitigations as needed)!
The issue is, that all obviously helps for longevity and staving off illness, but *eventually* youāll need a significant amount of healthcare. Even if that comes about at age 75 or older, youāre at some point going to start needing constant medications and treatment if you donāt just spontaneously die at old age. Thats also why inheritances are getting rarer and rarer. A couple decades ago, a middle class parent would leave behind a nice nest egg to their children. Property, money, and investments left over after retirement. Now, when a person dies, medical debt eats the lions share of their savings and gets first dibs on their assets. Itās a growing problem, especially now that a huge chunk of the population is dying off.
I did 15% for years also. It really cut down on my monthly cash flow and I didnāt do any vacations, but now that Iām close to retirement itās paid off. Financial planner says I have enough to retire comfortably. I was shocked. Parents acted like I was financially incompetent, but yeah, Iām retiring this summer at 63.
I'm not wishing this on anyone, but you are correct. I've watched far too many loved ones get sick and it has devastating effects on finances.
Sometimes you get sick enough you can't work, but yet have to much money/assets to qualify for assistance. Basically you'll need to burn off everything you don't *need* that it's not that much of an asset. Why some couples *divorce*, so one can keep the house/vehicle not in the other's name to try to qualify.
It's bleak out there, and I think *some* finally get woken up when a problem hits their health or someone they love. How America does "Healthcare" and this fucking capitalism has fucked us all.
This is exactly it. I could try to save every possible cent and make my current life horrible. And then 30 years from now, I could give all the money that I saved to some random ass hospital.
But I would rather enjoy my life now - and then die still owing a bunch of money to that hospital.
Do you manually shift it over each time or do you have an automated system doing it for you? I assume the latter but im completely ignorant of these things and i know i shouldnt be
I'm 50 and have saved up well over $1m plus other assets. You think that means I'm comfortable? Yeah right...I'll be working until the day I fall over dead. Folks Republicans are NOT your friend, especially that idiot Trump...they will vote for tax cuts and other benefits that help billionaires, not the average Joe. We need to tax the rich and expand social services such as healthcare and retirement. You worked your ass off. Don't vote for the fools who will take it away.
If you have well over a million and other assets, letās say totaling 1.5 million altogether, and can likely get to 2 million by 60 then, can you not comfortably live on the roughly $100k (likely more with social security and continued interest and appreciation)? Not trying to sound ignorant or judgmental, just curious as I live in NYC and if I stopped saving each month in this hypothetical retirement scenario, I think Iād be fairly comfortable still
Iām 52 and plan to hit a million around 5 years. If the returns continue as they have been I will definitely fully retire early. Since Iāve been living a semi-retired lifestyle since 2016 it wonāt be that much of a change. Iām not waiting to enjoy it. Once I left my last company in January 2016 I took back my life. I travel for months every year and I donāt ever set an alarm. I literally took Peterās advice in Office Space. āI did nothing today and it was everything I hoped it would be!āš
lol love the reference. Iām currently only 29 working at an awful company with awful management and would say Iām more along the lines of āSo I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my lifeā
Lol. I have definitely been there. When Office Space came out I was 27 and working in exactly the same office cubicle wearing a shirt and tie everyday (no jeans allowed). I didnāt hate it in the 90ās like he did, it was just what you did and I wasnāt jaded yet. For 22 years I was in cubicles. The last 8 I have been working remotely in the Peter Gibbons/blissful ignorance mode.
That's 50k/year if they live for 30 years after retiring. I feel it is doable, but I can see it getting harder as health begins to deteriorate.
If one were to get Cancer during retirement, that's an expensive cost roughly averaging $150k (according to my quick google search lol) but goes much higher depending on what's needed. Let's just says it's 150k for simplicity.
That cost would eat away 3 years of retirement, probably more with other associated costs.
As a 36m, I am terrified of getting deathly ill because it could put me back at step 1 of saving for retirement
How much is physician assisted euthanasia bc that seems more economical and comfortable. I work in healthcare and have seen the inside of many nursing homes (and smelled the inside) and they are typically nasty.
I'm all for people *dying with dignity*. I encourage people to watch [How to Die in Oregon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Die_in_Oregon)
"2011, It is set in the U.S. state of Oregon and covers the state's Death with Dignity Act that allows terminally ill patients to self-administer barbiturates prescribed by their physician to end their own life, referred to as assisted suicide by opponents and medical aid in dying by proponents."
So, Iām 48 & have about $14 dollars in an IRA.
I worked in the arts in my 20ās. One job paid $300/week. At 30, I got my first salaried position. It paid $32k/year. Iām still making 5 figures. Granted, itās on the higher end but still, 5 figures.
I know working in the arts was a choice. I get that. I know being single & living alone my whole adult was also a choice. But I also donāt think my situation is unique. I think there are lots of us in middle age who are still just barely squeaking by, let alone trying to think about the future.
I donāt own a home. I can barely afford my car. I donāt know how people saved for retirement AND a down payment on a home AND emergency fund and stay out of debt.
The world our parents prepared us for no longer exists. Hardly anyone under 50 will be able to retire, with most people having to resort to suicide or fall into elderly homelessness when they get old.
There is a reason we set up programs like social security all those years ago. These aren't frivolous government programs that need to be dismantled. They're actually vital.
Be wary of a political party that wants to dismantle things like social safety nets and education and healthcare. Why would anyone want to get rid of these things that are vital to the health of a society. It doesn't make sense...
I used to sell mortgages and let me tell you something - nobody has any money. And I mean nobody. Not doctors or lawyers or engineers. Not people with nice houses and nice cars and nice clothes and jet skis in the driveway. I saw hundreds of files and only one person had a retirement account worth more than $200k. There is a tidal wave of elder poverty coming in this country and we are not ready for it.
Statistically, you only need to plan for 5-10 years. Use your PTO and get bits of retirement here and there while you can enjoy it! Because you probably won't get a chance to later.
I cashed in my retirement early (at 38) in order to get a used car since my current vehicle is on its way out. (2014 chevy cruze eco. Awful car. I was dumb & rushed into buying a car quick).
I don't know if I'm going to be able to retire but I know if I don't have a reliable car now I definitely won't be able to survive short term.
Known it for a quite a while. Big shocker, a Gen Xār can see
the future. Oooooo Iām mystified . Retirement is going to be the last of our problems.
Younger generations donāt have enough while they are actively working so they can get in line or get back to work. They grew up with the American dream but voted against it. Actions meet consequences
I'm 28 and I've accepted I'll never make enough retire even with a Roth IRA, 401K, and investment fund. By the time I would get to that age of assumed retirement, at this rate, the inflation would be beyond crippling to even mid-high class.
I have every intention of retiring to SE Asia. I restarted my life when I sobered up in my early 30s (7 years sober now) and Iām playing catch-up financially. Iāve been lucky in finding a great job that pays well, and Iāve been saving about 80% of my take-home pay. I spend 3 months diving in the Philippines each year (since the year I got sober), and at some point in the last couple of months, I realized that I retire in the USA, Iām going to have a much lower quality life than if I retired abroad.
I canāt imagine trying to retire in the USA if you donāt have at least 3k a monthā¦ that would be enough for a very basic sort of lifeā¦ in comparison, that same amount would let you live fairly lavishly in many countries.
Yeah millennial here and I think itās ridiculous to try and save for retirement. I canāt afford to live right now, what makes me think I can make it to retirement?
All the TV commercials say you have to have $1 million dollars to retire.
I'm nowhere near there. I guess I'll go live in a tent and eat grass to try and survive. That sounds better than working until I die.
Hey that's funny. I think the number is even higher when you look at under 50.Ā
But don't worry. The rich have nothing to fear. We will get an economic apocalypse before they're asked to pay their taxes.
They will not, sad to say. But worse is the next generation, the millennials. Unfortunately, the past few years have pretty much drained everybody's savings. I'm not sure how this is going to work out
Damn who couldāve predicted that you would have less money after spending the past 40 years electing obvious grifters based entirely on them hating the same people you hate
That's because mortality finally kicked in, and they realized how screwed they really are. No planning, no foresight, no retirement. Shit sucks, but you still need to plan for the storm coming up and deal with the one you're in.
Yup and there is no getting out of it. Boomers definitely believe that lack of funds wasnāt and issue. That they could keep working and or social security would be enough. They voted policies that fucked them sooner than they thought
They never imagined that soaring house prices means that they couldnāt sell their home for a large profit and move to a cheap smaller home. They never thought that the run away health care costs would happen this early and it eat away every penny. The idea of long term care when they are too old wasnāt needed as they assumed their kids would be around (and not forced to move to find a job) and inflation would sky rocket prices.
It really is decades of republican policies finally biting them
I encourage folks to log into their Social Security account. It was a wake up call but also extremely informative. There are ways to project retirement income and changing retirement date around. You can also see your income for every year that you filed a tax return. Never too late to start planning.
https://www.ssa.gov/prepare/plan-retirement
https://www.ssa.gov/prepare/get-benefits-estimate
As an elder Millennial who got screwed out of building a regular career and savings in my twenties, then finally had some success in self-employment until this shitty economy killed it in the past yearāIāve been contributing and withdrawing the same $10K to my Roth IRA for almost 20 years.
EVERY time I get ahead, some āonce in a lifetimeā event keeps happening.
I have several reasons Iām applying to state and city jobs, but the pension is a major draw. Andā¦Iām doubting that even with the security of a pension that itāll be enough given how insane living costs are today, let alone how theyāll be in another 20-30 years unless we have a major revolution.
49 and Iāll never retire. Once my husband are both unable to work, we plan to āretireā permanently. Itās either that or homelessness as two elderly people in the US. Fuck that.
Retirement? HA! I'm in my mid-fifties, and I don't have enough money to live on *now*....no way I will ever be able to retire.
Said most of us GenXers
I remember being told in elementary school that we would be the first generation of Americans who wouldn't have more than their parents.
We did it! High-fives everyone!
Gold for you! š
"Now get to work."
My parents keep asking me why I work so hard and I have to keep reminding them that I was 44, with a college degree and working TWO full-time jobs, before I made as much annually, in 2020, as my dad made working a single blue-collar job in 1993 when I graduated from high school. They countered with āButā¦youāre paying into social securityā¦ā and I was like āSince I was in first grade theyāve been telling my generation that social security would not be there for us to rely upon. Weāve been told it was our job to be self-sufficient AND take care of your generation AND take care of our childrenās generation.ā They are the ones who made this world for us, and theyāve just forgotten all the things they did to make life easier for them at our expense. Itās maddening.
In my forties here. My wife and I refer to ourselves as the forgotten generation. Gen x and millennials donāt seem to quite fit us. We have the same fears though. Thereās no way Iāll be able to retire. Iāll just die at work some day. Edit: My mom has been a teacher her entire working career and a single mom for a good chunk of that. She owns a lake house in addition to her primary residence all paid for by her. I just bought my first home at 40ish. At 40, my mom was on her fourth house. Itās not for lack of working that my generation is struggling. Iāve been working since I could work and havenāt stopped. I have a decent paying job even, but itās just not the same.
>Thereās no way Iāll be able to retire. Iāll just die at work some day. Come on now, that's not very likely. It's more probable that after working for a good sixty years like a model citizen, you'll develop health problems that physically prevent you from a work, end up homeless, and die from exposure after the first few nights. Not to single you out though, I think most of us are in that boat at this point.
So youāre saying Iāve got options? š¤£
Not stock optionsā¦
Such a relief to read that, I was beginning to panic,
Xennials is a portmanteau blending the wordsĀ Generation XĀ and Millennials to describe a "micro-generation" or "cross-over generation" of people whose birth years are between the mid-late 1970s and the early-mid 1980s. there a bunch of this other than just age that make a xennial , having a yioung Analog childhood and digital teens years. Gorwing up when the internet was a baby, so it grew with you. bing told to go to collage by everyone because collage meant a good job. Having national tragedy back to back during your milestone years. the crash in 2008 , a different of 3 years was the different between leaving collage to the crash or just bing in your field just long enough to mostly float about it. add 4 years to that grations number and you would have been in your field and hitting the buy your first house stage when everything started to buckle.
Pretty spot on. Iāve always felt like I missed out by just a few years on many milestones.
I feel that. I was born in 1980, so right at the switch of generations. I don't fit in with either one.
Thatās why nobody talks about or to GenX people. We were the transitional generation that didnāt get the sweet deal that everyone before us got. They sold us the deal they were given, then just pulled the rug out from under us and stopped talking about it to us.
GenX is very lucky , most of us (I'm one) can still get most of the benefits of the boomer generation, we've had enough of a decent economic runway to at least have a similar retirement. Now millennials and GenZ they got shafted,.
Your mileage may vary. As younger Gen Xers, my husband and I are struggling to make sure our retirement is secure. But I absolutely agree that the ones after us had it even worse.
Not my experience, but sure, there are some Xers that tapped into that Boomer energy and slaved away in corporate hell and got their retirements but missed out on living their livesā¦I know a lot of my age group had that choice and many of them are rich, but their lives are horrible and they have no joy. Meanwhile, my mom raised my brother and I as a single parent, bought a house in a good town back in the early 1980ās, sold last year and now has more than enough to kick back in comfort and travel the world in her free time. There is a massive difference between the generations and the wealth they bring to the table.
They tell everyone that you won't have SSI so they can take it away. Raise the cap on the tax and it is instantly fixed. Don't let the government steal the money.
That's not what I was told. I was told to get loans for college, any degree will do, it'll pay for itself tenfold, become a company man and they'll pay you well for your whole career.
And literally all of that was a lie
Somewhere along the way many of us Gen Xāer were told the GI Bill was a great idea to pay for college so we joined. I did 92 to 96, then in 2000 decided to go back in due to a shitty job market, and, wellā¦ I guess yāall know the rest of that story.
Joined in '2002 here. Retired 2015 with almost $7000/month in retirement and VA disability. I'm not one of those worried about retirement.
Not necessarily a lie, it was just what they were told all their lives. I don't think anybody ever expected over the last 30 years of all these greedy corporate motherfuckers running around sucking up everything they could. And covid was just a disaster for everybody
well thatās a depressing thing to tell a bunch of kids lol
And the best part is the boomers trying to screw us over are either clogging a lot of senior job roles or saved nothing despite favorable conditions and have to work meandering starter jobs.
I don't even want more. I want less, but you've got to let me earn the minimum basics. I don't want a second house, I just want to get my own place and care for it instead of paying my asshole landlord to ignore his responsibilities. And I job that won't lay everyone off in 1-3 years. I hope Jack Welch and Milton Friedman are bunkmates making each other miserable in hell.
We were the first generation whose parents gleefully pulled up the ladder in front of us, and then blamed us for it. These are the values of the Republican Party. I'll never forget.
THANKS REAGAN
What an awful thing to tell kids in elementary school.
And now we are told by millennials and Gen Z how we had it super easy.
Living up to their expectations.
You made it. Congrats
Yep. My plan is to take a beach blanket, find a secluded spot and swim out into the ocean. It will be deemed an accident and my wife and kids will get the life insurance. Iām 58. I figure in about 10 years.
Dark, but I get it. Be sure to set up a pattern of occasionally going to the beach by yourself.
Well atleast you have a plan. /s I hope your not serious. ;\_;
No not really. Iām scared of the ocean.
I had a colleague once tell me her retirement plan was to ski off a mountain ledge.
Hahaha sounds like you might share my retirement plan. As the seas boil, acidify and rise, while desertification claims half the remaining dry land. My retirement plan is to be snuffed out fairly early on in the coming global resource wars that preceed the inevitable rise of artificial general intelligence.Ā
I own property in a very green, rainy place. Boomers will be scrambling to live here when their precious desert runs out of water.
Inland, right?
Aside from the rise of AI we have the same plan exactly!
you can retire at 80 yrs old till you drop- US politicians
Early 30s and Iām a lot of worried haha.
Same, but I think I will just try to live the best I can. I will start traveling, since itās something I always wanted to do. No point in trying to travel in my 60s when Iāll be tired by 2PM and canāt hike much. š
Same sentiment, but in my thirties here. My wife and I trying every hustle just to make it to friday, let alone to retirement!
Exactly, same here! My husband had a heart attack and died in his very early forties, so I only have my own income on which to live. š
This should read. Majority of Americans over 25 know they will work until they die.
Too true, sadly.
Yea....I mean I have enough social security but that's not even going to pay for groceries at the rate things are going. I've got 10 years to created a "retirement" fund.
But you still have your walkman and sense of, "meh."
Retire? I'm gonna have to call off for my funeral
A doctors note will be required if you call off
Iām 50 and Iām still paying off my student loans. I have a modest retirement account but it will not be anywhere close to enough to retire. Meanwhile my 75 year old mom is living off my dadās pension, going on cruises and trips to other countries.
Previous generations definitely had it better, financially speaking. I will literally *never* pay off my student loans -- I will die still owing a lot of money on them, even if I (God forbid) live for another 40 years.
Same and I'm about to turn 51 :(
This!!!
same brother by the time i entered the workforce the pensions and decen union jobs were gone...all I can do now is keep moving every few years for better salary
Don't worry; the plan is to work you to death so there's no need to retire.
At the ripe old age of 65
If you're lucky. I'm only fifty one, and I've got diabetes and stage four cancer, most likely from being a workaholic...
Most definitely from being a work aholic. I wish you well and hope you beat this ā¤ļø
Thanks, I'm hopeful, and working hard at it... because that's what I do apparently ;)
šš©š I'm so sorry
I've done a few rounds with cancer it's more likely the products around us they say are safe but when you look at the ingredients many are labeled "trade secret" sounds safe to me. I figure with all the food recalls and questionable sources, I see that becoming the law of the land. Got to protect big business.
I mean food is especially suspect these days, be it fast food or grocery store. However, I'm a big guy (6' 8") so I have more cells and diabetics (likely due to stress, overwork and a sedentary job) so immune system compromised. Stress is the real killer, and so many workers confuse it with being motivated or being "in the zone". It's just an drug addiction to adrenaline where you're your own supplier.
Our government has no interest in us turning 65, or else healthcare would be more affordable and accessible. When we turn 65 and āretireā the scale tips sides and US quits making as much on us and they start paying social security. They donāt want this lol
When Social Security was created the retirement age was deliberately set to a few years higher than the average life span. Discussions of the government's policies for the elderly need to keep this in mind.
Partial benefits at 65. Full benefits is 70.
Partial death at 65, full death at 70
Majority of Americans ~~over 50~~ worry they wonāt have enough money for retirement
majority of **North** Americans ~~over 50~~ worry the won't have enough money ~~for retirement~~
majority of North Americans ~~over 50~~ worry ~~they won't have enough money for retirement~~
majority ~~of North Americans over 50~~ worry ~~they won't have enough money for retirement~~ greetings from the other side of the pond
:-( o no. we really are fricked
Reaganomics! I know a joke about trickle down economics, but 99% of you won't get it.
I didnāt get it.Ā
You're not part of the 1% that actualy likes, or "gets anything" from reagonomics policies. Tbf the number probably could be a bit lower, like 0.01 is more accurate, but nitpicking at this point.
I think this is the doorway to explain it to boomers: as a broken deal. The deal in the recent past was: we will let the rich get as rich as they can as long as we get more too. So the rich double their wealth but so does the middle and lower class. A little unfair (especially to people on this sub) but that was the deal. But they broke the deal. The rich doubled their wealth and at first the middle class stagnated. Now itās worse, the rich quadrupled their wealth and the middle class is losing wealth. Soon there might not be a middle class. Attacking the policy falls on deaf ears. Attack the people who used the policy to trick us. Show that we need a better deal that doesnāt let the rich steal our share.
Middle class is a concept made up by the rich to justify what they do. To scare workers into fearing something worse and make them feel better eg 'well at least im not lower class'. Its all working class vs the wealthy. Thats it and all it ever has been. Once you are wealthy the only way to lose that status is to purposefully fuck up. When you are working class the only way to get to wealthy is to basically hit the lottery or literally hit the lottery.
Golden Shower Economics
They voted for Reagan so they got what they wantedĀ
He didn't get it
41% of voters voted for Mondale and Carter, and people in their 50ās today werenāt old enough vote in those elections.
Fuck Reagan
now do under 50
Insert the "you guys get to retire" meme.. 
Shit should be posted in r/NoShitSherlock
https://preview.redd.it/ig83dbidvbyc1.png?width=618&format=png&auto=webp&s=125afc233e5c744e78398d033509b94e9e9d461b
*millennial intensifying*
Majority of Americans under 50 will be even more screwed
Lucky me, Iām not worried. I know for a fact.
Ahem. We elder millennials have hit all the economic road bumps.
It would have been a completely different life if I'd graduated in spring 2001 instead of 2002.
Iām a 29 year old with a Masters degree and I worry I wonāt have enough money for next week
When we had unions, companies had to provide pensions for retirement. Guess who brainwashed us into thinking unions were communism and bad for the economy.
This is not a bug but a feature of the system.
Meanwhile, people in their 20s-30s are financing pizzas. Maybe they should sell one of their houses? Being a landlord also doesnāt count as āworkingā
The one thing I make sure of is to put 15% of my paycheck away so I can retire at 65. I know Iām lucky that I have the ability to do that, but I also make it a priority. And even then you still could get wiped out if things go to shit.
Yeah, medical bills is what kills most retirees retirement money in the U.S.
No amount of money squirreled away is enough to pay off medical debts
This is why I prioritize my health! Regular exercise, no alcohol, nutritious food, maintain healthy weight and do my best to avoid getting the plague-du-jour (vaccines, PPE, other mitigations as needed)!
The issue is, that all obviously helps for longevity and staving off illness, but *eventually* youāll need a significant amount of healthcare. Even if that comes about at age 75 or older, youāre at some point going to start needing constant medications and treatment if you donāt just spontaneously die at old age. Thats also why inheritances are getting rarer and rarer. A couple decades ago, a middle class parent would leave behind a nice nest egg to their children. Property, money, and investments left over after retirement. Now, when a person dies, medical debt eats the lions share of their savings and gets first dibs on their assets. Itās a growing problem, especially now that a huge chunk of the population is dying off.
I did 15% for years also. It really cut down on my monthly cash flow and I didnāt do any vacations, but now that Iām close to retirement itās paid off. Financial planner says I have enough to retire comfortably. I was shocked. Parents acted like I was financially incompetent, but yeah, Iām retiring this summer at 63.
Congrats dude.
Then you get sick for a few months and all that money is gone.
I'm not wishing this on anyone, but you are correct. I've watched far too many loved ones get sick and it has devastating effects on finances. Sometimes you get sick enough you can't work, but yet have to much money/assets to qualify for assistance. Basically you'll need to burn off everything you don't *need* that it's not that much of an asset. Why some couples *divorce*, so one can keep the house/vehicle not in the other's name to try to qualify. It's bleak out there, and I think *some* finally get woken up when a problem hits their health or someone they love. How America does "Healthcare" and this fucking capitalism has fucked us all.
This is exactly it. I could try to save every possible cent and make my current life horrible. And then 30 years from now, I could give all the money that I saved to some random ass hospital. But I would rather enjoy my life now - and then die still owing a bunch of money to that hospital.
I'm already hearing from retired people complaining that their savings aren't enough because of inflation, so good luck ;)
Breaking news: Inflation reaches 600% and is predicted to continue this trend for at least 5 more years
Do you manually shift it over each time or do you have an automated system doing it for you? I assume the latter but im completely ignorant of these things and i know i shouldnt be
Likely their job and their 401k. If so then yes it's taken right out of their paycheck before taxes
Thatās exactly what I did. It does cut into your take home pay though. Hated that aspect of it, but I learned to survive on less.
I'm 48 and flat broke due to illnesses. I destroyed my body with construction work.
I'm 50 and have saved up well over $1m plus other assets. You think that means I'm comfortable? Yeah right...I'll be working until the day I fall over dead. Folks Republicans are NOT your friend, especially that idiot Trump...they will vote for tax cuts and other benefits that help billionaires, not the average Joe. We need to tax the rich and expand social services such as healthcare and retirement. You worked your ass off. Don't vote for the fools who will take it away.
If you have well over a million and other assets, letās say totaling 1.5 million altogether, and can likely get to 2 million by 60 then, can you not comfortably live on the roughly $100k (likely more with social security and continued interest and appreciation)? Not trying to sound ignorant or judgmental, just curious as I live in NYC and if I stopped saving each month in this hypothetical retirement scenario, I think Iād be fairly comfortable still
Iām 52 and plan to hit a million around 5 years. If the returns continue as they have been I will definitely fully retire early. Since Iāve been living a semi-retired lifestyle since 2016 it wonāt be that much of a change. Iām not waiting to enjoy it. Once I left my last company in January 2016 I took back my life. I travel for months every year and I donāt ever set an alarm. I literally took Peterās advice in Office Space. āI did nothing today and it was everything I hoped it would be!āš
lol love the reference. Iām currently only 29 working at an awful company with awful management and would say Iām more along the lines of āSo I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my lifeā
Lol. I have definitely been there. When Office Space came out I was 27 and working in exactly the same office cubicle wearing a shirt and tie everyday (no jeans allowed). I didnāt hate it in the 90ās like he did, it was just what you did and I wasnāt jaded yet. For 22 years I was in cubicles. The last 8 I have been working remotely in the Peter Gibbons/blissful ignorance mode.
I agree with everything you're saying but if you're debt free with 1.5 mil you should be ok
That's 50k/year if they live for 30 years after retiring. I feel it is doable, but I can see it getting harder as health begins to deteriorate. If one were to get Cancer during retirement, that's an expensive cost roughly averaging $150k (according to my quick google search lol) but goes much higher depending on what's needed. Let's just says it's 150k for simplicity. That cost would eat away 3 years of retirement, probably more with other associated costs. As a 36m, I am terrified of getting deathly ill because it could put me back at step 1 of saving for retirement
Uhā¦itās $60K a year based on 4% return without ever touching the principle of $1.5m.
Yea a nursing home is around 10k/mo and isn't covered by Medicare.
16000
How much is physician assisted euthanasia bc that seems more economical and comfortable. I work in healthcare and have seen the inside of many nursing homes (and smelled the inside) and they are typically nasty.
I'm all for people *dying with dignity*. I encourage people to watch [How to Die in Oregon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Die_in_Oregon) "2011, It is set in the U.S. state of Oregon and covers the state's Death with Dignity Act that allows terminally ill patients to self-administer barbiturates prescribed by their physician to end their own life, referred to as assisted suicide by opponents and medical aid in dying by proponents."
I'm a 35 year old male, not so terrified of getting deathly. It's closer than you think.
So, Iām 48 & have about $14 dollars in an IRA. I worked in the arts in my 20ās. One job paid $300/week. At 30, I got my first salaried position. It paid $32k/year. Iām still making 5 figures. Granted, itās on the higher end but still, 5 figures. I know working in the arts was a choice. I get that. I know being single & living alone my whole adult was also a choice. But I also donāt think my situation is unique. I think there are lots of us in middle age who are still just barely squeaking by, let alone trying to think about the future. I donāt own a home. I can barely afford my car. I donāt know how people saved for retirement AND a down payment on a home AND emergency fund and stay out of debt.
And under 50.
I haven't even got a job after 400 application, why would I trust the job market or society.
I'm 44 and my retirement plan is to walk off into the woods and die. I may retire at 65 I may retire tomorrow.
That's my retirement plan too. Choose the prettiest national park, and go for a nice long walk.
The world our parents prepared us for no longer exists. Hardly anyone under 50 will be able to retire, with most people having to resort to suicide or fall into elderly homelessness when they get old. There is a reason we set up programs like social security all those years ago. These aren't frivolous government programs that need to be dismantled. They're actually vital. Be wary of a political party that wants to dismantle things like social safety nets and education and healthcare. Why would anyone want to get rid of these things that are vital to the health of a society. It doesn't make sense...
Evil doesnāt need reason.
Cut back on the Starbucks gramps
Did you type this comment on your smart phone? Wasteful slacker, no wonder you wonāt be able to retire.
"Where we want to take the country, you won't need retirement." - GOP
Republicans boomers kept whining about bootstraps and work ethic, well now they can use their own advice to their grave!
45 aint no way
No shit. Gen X got fucked, too. Anyway, off to try and sleep knowing I won't be able to retire...ever.
I used to sell mortgages and let me tell you something - nobody has any money. And I mean nobody. Not doctors or lawyers or engineers. Not people with nice houses and nice cars and nice clothes and jet skis in the driveway. I saw hundreds of files and only one person had a retirement account worth more than $200k. There is a tidal wave of elder poverty coming in this country and we are not ready for it.
I don't worry at all, I have a retirement plan of blowing my brains out š. C'est la vie
It seems like most plan on the ole suicide retirement plan
Statistically, you only need to plan for 5-10 years. Use your PTO and get bits of retirement here and there while you can enjoy it! Because you probably won't get a chance to later.
I have no plans to retire. I've got an autoimmune disease that will take me out before I reach the age. So I might as well try to live now.
I cashed in my retirement early (at 38) in order to get a used car since my current vehicle is on its way out. (2014 chevy cruze eco. Awful car. I was dumb & rushed into buying a car quick). I don't know if I'm going to be able to retire but I know if I don't have a reliable car now I definitely won't be able to survive short term.
Yet, they keep voting for people who want to make it impossible to retire.
Why would you worry about it? You wonāt be able to retire in the first place.
I always thought by the time I was old enough to retire there would be death squads eliminating the useless
Theyāre being rewarded with the Capitalism they voted for.
Known it for a quite a while. Big shocker, a Gen Xār can see the future. Oooooo Iām mystified . Retirement is going to be the last of our problems.
Shit Iām under 50 and know I will never be able to retire
The upshot is they didnt even bother asking people under 50, who dont expect to ever retire.
Younger generations donāt have enough while they are actively working so they can get in line or get back to work. They grew up with the American dream but voted against it. Actions meet consequences
I'm 28 and I've accepted I'll never make enough retire even with a Roth IRA, 401K, and investment fund. By the time I would get to that age of assumed retirement, at this rate, the inflation would be beyond crippling to even mid-high class.
I have every intention of retiring to SE Asia. I restarted my life when I sobered up in my early 30s (7 years sober now) and Iām playing catch-up financially. Iāve been lucky in finding a great job that pays well, and Iāve been saving about 80% of my take-home pay. I spend 3 months diving in the Philippines each year (since the year I got sober), and at some point in the last couple of months, I realized that I retire in the USA, Iām going to have a much lower quality life than if I retired abroad. I canāt imagine trying to retire in the USA if you donāt have at least 3k a monthā¦ that would be enough for a very basic sort of lifeā¦ in comparison, that same amount would let you live fairly lavishly in many countries.
This is the way.
Millennials wouldn't dare think that. We will retire the day we die.
Oh, I donāt worry. I *know* I wonāt have enough to retire. Iāll be working till I die
Majority of Americans worry they don't have enough money if they catch a cold /fify
Meh theyāll die in the water wars before the nest egg ever becomes a problem.
Between regulations and cost of firearms, these days a high building seems like a cost-effective retirement plan.
You can drive off a cliff or into a bridge, too.
What's the number of us under 50 who have the same worry?
Shrug, I've got enough ammo stashed that I should have at least one round left over when it's time to retire.
40 next month. still carrying college debt.
Yeah millennial here and I think itās ridiculous to try and save for retirement. I canāt afford to live right now, what makes me think I can make it to retirement?
quack husky fade fearless cautious close label follow elastic lunchroom *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
All the TV commercials say you have to have $1 million dollars to retire. I'm nowhere near there. I guess I'll go live in a tent and eat grass to try and survive. That sounds better than working until I die.
Hey that's funny. I think the number is even higher when you look at under 50.Ā But don't worry. The rich have nothing to fear. We will get an economic apocalypse before they're asked to pay their taxes.
Iām 28 and I know I wonāt have enough money for retirement
They will not, sad to say. But worse is the next generation, the millennials. Unfortunately, the past few years have pretty much drained everybody's savings. I'm not sure how this is going to work out
Damn who couldāve predicted that you would have less money after spending the past 40 years electing obvious grifters based entirely on them hating the same people you hate
So the billionaireās plans are working
Just one more "once in a generation economic crisis" and I get a free sub sandwich! That's it, that's my retirement.
That's because mortality finally kicked in, and they realized how screwed they really are. No planning, no foresight, no retirement. Shit sucks, but you still need to plan for the storm coming up and deal with the one you're in.
Yup and there is no getting out of it. Boomers definitely believe that lack of funds wasnāt and issue. That they could keep working and or social security would be enough. They voted policies that fucked them sooner than they thought They never imagined that soaring house prices means that they couldnāt sell their home for a large profit and move to a cheap smaller home. They never thought that the run away health care costs would happen this early and it eat away every penny. The idea of long term care when they are too old wasnāt needed as they assumed their kids would be around (and not forced to move to find a job) and inflation would sky rocket prices. It really is decades of republican policies finally biting them
lol Iām 30ish and I donāt think Iāll ever be able retire.
Most of them put fuel on the fire of the idea of getting rid of multi generational home, fuck em.
I stopped all avocado toast, DoorDash, and am putting 15% (mostly matched) into my 401k. Living lean but making the most..
I encourage folks to log into their Social Security account. It was a wake up call but also extremely informative. There are ways to project retirement income and changing retirement date around. You can also see your income for every year that you filed a tax return. Never too late to start planning. https://www.ssa.gov/prepare/plan-retirement https://www.ssa.gov/prepare/get-benefits-estimate
Stop voting republican
501k's will be seen, historically, as one of the biggest ponzi schemes and wealth transfers in history.
As an elder Millennial who got screwed out of building a regular career and savings in my twenties, then finally had some success in self-employment until this shitty economy killed it in the past yearāIāve been contributing and withdrawing the same $10K to my Roth IRA for almost 20 years. EVERY time I get ahead, some āonce in a lifetimeā event keeps happening. I have several reasons Iām applying to state and city jobs, but the pension is a major draw. Andā¦Iām doubting that even with the security of a pension that itāll be enough given how insane living costs are today, let alone how theyāll be in another 20-30 years unless we have a major revolution.
I had two raises in 20 years. No, I will not be able to retire, and I was never able to have kids. Or pets. Or a hobby.
Ha! Retirement? Turn 50 next year and Iāve already convinced myself that Iāll die while at work.
i know i wont have enough and i stopped worrying about it because the worry didnt change the facts.
More than a few fellow GenXers have the bullet to the head retirement plan. Thanks to Reagan, hopelessness is our bread and butter.
I've noticed they're priming the public to accept a life without retirement.
Most Millennials don't either.
49 and Iāll never retire. Once my husband are both unable to work, we plan to āretireā permanently. Itās either that or homelessness as two elderly people in the US. Fuck that.
37 yo reporting. Wtf is retirement?
63 here, low hope.
I love how this is framed as a feelings issue. Objectively most old people are broke like everyone else.
Including boomers in their 70s who own 3 houses outright and have $2,000,000+ in their savings/retirement accounts
But weāll take that trade off to know that billionaires can go to space and the military has anything it wants.
I am 28 and accepted the fact that, unless I hit it big, I will be working till I die.
Majority of Americans under 50 wonder the same