Retirement

[Aabidano]

Couple NPR articles on retirement, and how corporate America is legally screwing a big chunk of the populace. Makes the thought of privatizing SS especially laughable. Neither party is guilt free on this topic, but the RNC is clearly ignoring reality in their vision of the future, the one they're willing to talk about anyway. We're regressing to the late 1800s rapidly, and the family and community safety net the low wage earners traditionally had has been (intentionally?) destroyed.

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/28/140875965 ... o-you-need

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/29/140344871 ... d-pensions

I've got 3 uncles who've been screwed out of their retirement by execs who were paid big bonuses for making the company money in such an innovative fashion. Fully funded pension funds having all the profits sucked off the top and no more cash going in. Labor economics being what they are, I'm not sure even unionization on a vast scale would help.

[Chidoro]

The problem is not just the lower class, there's a big problem with the middle class too. Companies are not hiring, yet they need work to be completed. The solution a lot of larger companies have decided to go with is to hire contractors. These aren't highly paid consultants, but contractors hired by various companies brought in to maintain the work load but not provided benefits or 401k options for very average hourly rates. Many times the person is brought in for only 6 months so they would barely qualify for any type of 401k if the contracting company is a rare one to actually offer it. Contractors are also allowed to be let go w/out notice or reason. There's no severance so it's just a panic to get another job as quickly as possible because unemployment isn't worth a damn. The option for this person is usually to get another contracting job because they are the only ones with positions available. It was only about 10 years ago that contracting was really considered a temp to perm solution. Those days are gone. There's a lot of college educated middle class workers who have no 401k options so they have to be disciplined enough to contribute to an IRA (assuming the market will eventually show some sustained growth again). There's going to be so many people w/ no money when retirement age approaches, no pensions, and no jobs for those folks who will have no choice but to keep working. While it's already bad, it's going to get really really ugly in about 15-20 years. People aren't going to be able to afford remaining alive

[Aslanna]

Even with a 401k (and also a Roth) I think I'll have a hard time retiring when the time comes. Simply due to the roller coaster cycles that have been the norm the past 10 years. By the time I start showing some gains the market crashes and takes half of it out. After a couple years I get back to where I was, make a few gains then it crashes again. Rinse and repeat. It's pretty disappointing really. The stock market these days it a big joke and basically a scam for the average investor.

[masteen]

It IS a scam for the average investor. Without the assets to properly mitigate risk like a massive hedge fund, or the connections to enable you to do some insider trading (HI2U CONGRESS), you're fucked. The only chance you have is if you guess right and cash out before a bubble bursts, but because of the constant devaluation of our currency, if you guess wrong, you STILL lose money.

[Aabidano]

Wasn't restricting the comment to low wage earners, though they'll be especially screwed. Looking at some local folks, as long as SS doesn't fail outright which won't happen without help, the drop for a lot of them isn't that far. I know half a dozen people on SS who squeak by on roughly 24k\yr. The lower and middle, middle class are the one who really get the hosing,

Someone making a average salary I don't believe has the capability to save enough to retire unless they're smart enough to start at 24 and are able to maintain near continuous employment until ~65. Couple friends burned through what would have been their retirement after the dot com implosion. Think the job market is tough for college kids, it's just as bad for the 50+ year olds who've just been synergized, or appears to be at any rate.

[Siji]

Retirement in general will be a thing of the past. Work for peanuts until you drop is all that's left.

[Winnow]

When I retire I'm going to open an internet mail order business selling special health beans to vegans. Easy money.