dagblog - Comments for "Yes, WaPo: There Is A Retirement Crisis"

You are not alone with this

trkingmomoe — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 07:08:55 +0000

In reply to What color is the sky in your

You are not alone with this kind of retirement. But I refuse to be defeated by it and look for all the good things that happen and don't base my life on what I own but the quality of life I have through relationships. I know that Richard has to take meds and keep a watch on his diet. He is a very caring man and wears his heart on his sleeve. He has had more than his share of suffering. He is being very honest. I understand your pain and worry at trying to make ends meet but you need understand that some of us with less don't feel bad for ourselves.

Your story is sad. Sounds a

Ramona — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 01:07:36 +0000

In reply to What color is the sky in your

Your story is sad. Sounds a lot like mine, except our car only has 143,000 miles on it. But what is it that makes you suspect that Richard is being less than honest? He's learned to make do on next to nothing and still be happy most days. I respect him for that, and I like the way he thinks.

Maybe you misunderstood?

AHHHH, we've found something

tmccarthy0 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 23:14:01 +0000

In reply to DD says he gets by on little

AHHHH, we've found something we agree on Lulu, well that and scooters.

DD says he gets by on little

A Guy Called LULU — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 22:40:46 +0000

In reply to What color is the sky in your

DD says he gets by on little but is thankful that it is enough to keep him warm and fed and with access to some entertainment and to a lot of the world through the internet. Without saying so specifically he acknowledges that he is grateful for what he has and the help he gets, and that he is luckier than some. He also says he would give up a bit of what he gets to help folks in tougher situations, folks like yourself. I think he is honest about that. I also think his skies are usually blue. If you feel a need to dump on him for your bad luck, you are off base.

What color is the sky in your

Anonymous — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 21:50:51 +0000

In reply to I get my $1177/Month. I am

What color is the sky in your world? You are fortunate to have no medical expenses, special dietary needs, and help with your rent. In my world, Medicare premiums for 2 are $208 a month, with deductibles and copays each time we see a doctor pharmacy runs $180 per month, medicare advantage is $132 per month, which limits medicare out of pocket and specialized diet for two (diabetes\kidney stones) runs about $140 per week. Our ''elderly'' property tax break amounts to ~$22 per month. We just canceled Christmas to pay the copays on my cataract surgery, my husband hasn't had a new pair of glasses in 3 years, cable vanished 4 years ago, and the car has 176000 miles on it. Excuse me for suspecting that you are less than honest about your situation. Better run now, your momma wants you to take out the trash.

I get my $1177/Month. I am

Richard Day — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 07:58:12 +0000

In reply to Yes, WaPo: There Is A Retirement Crisis

I get my $1177/Month.

I am grateful?

Now I get a discount on rent up here in the middle of nowhere.

The discount amounts to about $200? Maybe a little less.

But damn, I mean I have a place to live and I can afford internet and I get basic cable as part of my rental package.

Why they still give me $15/month for food stamps is idiocy, but like I have said before, coffee has really risen as far as price. haahahah

Then I discovered that most SS recipients receive about what I get ($23 less?) and I have a place to live, I have internet and I have food that costs about $200/month. I keep track actually.

The food budget involves about $80/month in fruit and veggies?

If I were rich, if I had a million dollars as the baren naked ladies espouse, I might easily spend five times that amount.

But I am warm, I am protected from the elements, I am only violated in my privacy about once a year (they have to check for dead cats and stuff!)

And I should not receive $15/month for food whilst some poor woman with three kids loses 20% of her allowance?

I will give my allotment to this woman!

Yeah, I worked for fifty years.

I am not really that embarrassed at the age of 63 getting SS.

But if 'they' decided it would be best if I gave up 10% of my stipend in order to create a better universe/country or whatever, I could handle it.

If I had a million dollars, things would go much easier.

Really!

the end

I am a tradesman who is

moat — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 02:39:03 +0000

In reply to Yes, WaPo: There Is A Retirement Crisis

I am a tradesman who is getting very close to sixty, I have never worked for an outfit that offered a pension as a form of compensation. So I have the good fortune of not being screwed out of a deal that was never offered me.

Most of the people I work with don't have pensions. The subcontractor employees I have worked with that do have such plans have operated for so many decades together that it amounts to a form of profit sharing.

What is this retirement thing that Dychtwald speaks of? There are only the deals one makes and the honesty of the people making them.

Yeah, right around the time

Michael Maiello — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 22:23:36 +0000

In reply to Back in the day, there were

Yeah, right around the time that pension manager got cold feet, prospective 401(k) investors were promised 8-10% annual returns that would compound over time just by indexing! Would love to hear Emma Zahn's take on this.

Back in the day, there were

Peter Schwartz — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 19:33:06 +0000

In reply to Yes, WaPo: There Is A Retirement Crisis

Back in the day, there were "three legs" to the retirement stool: 1) defined benefit pension, 2) your savings (now 401(k) perhaps), and 3) Social Security.

The first one is gone. The second one is fraught with problems. And who knows what will happen to the third one.

I remember reading an article about IBM switching from a pension system to a 401(k) system. IBM's pension was fully funded, so that was not a problem, but the guy said something very revealing.

To paraphrase, "We can't continue the pension, because we realize we can't make the returns we need to make the defined payments."

I thought, "If you can't make the necessary returns using professional pension and investment managers, how is the average employee, untrained in investing, going to make the necessary returns?"

Basically, IBM fixed a problem by offloading it onto the employees.

That union leaders are

Michael Maiello — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 15:05:24 +0000

In reply to It is interesting that you

That union leaders are finding the pension to 401(k) switch acceptable is a huge problem. I want to do a separate post about this but the 401(k) was never intended to be the dominant retirement plan in America. When the law was passed the intention was that it would allow employees employees to invest alongside their employers in a tax advantaged account. It was meant to supplement, not replace, a pension plan.