Frontline NOW -- "The Retirement Gamble"

[WorseBeforeBetter]

At least where I am.

"America is facing a retirement crisis."
1/3 have no savings.
1/2 don't make enough to save.
Worries about Social Security...

Boomers planning to work into their 70s, or 'til death.

Americans not understanding 401(k)s and how to manage their own savings.

Pensions GONE.

Mutual funds racket.

High unemployment.

Housing market bust.

This is grim.

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. You Can't Save When Most Jobs Are In The Crapper

After Reagan won, he, the GOP and its business allies began to dismantle the job market and turn everything into low paying service jobs. When they deliberately destroyed unions and began to stagnate wages the die was cast. And the American sheeple kept putting the GOP in power.

Clinton had to run as a new Democrat (Demopub) or GOP lite to because voters would not vote for a liberal or progressive. Voters still won't vote for a strongly pro labor candidate. They will vote for their Bible, their gun and anti gay policies.

You cannot save when jobs are like temporary, part time or contract. Long term and secure jobs are just about extinct.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

6. $18 billion in Wall Street bonuses...

while many Americans are blowing through their 401(k)s just to survive. This is really sad. Infuriating...

[WillyT]

2. HUGE K & R !!!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

3. Yep. And those DUers who don't like other DUers...

expressing concern about Social Security can take a big bite.

[WillyT]

4. EXACTLY !!!

[Skittles]

33. those DUers have ZERO credibility

put them on Ignore - it makes DU much more like it used to be

[hootinholler]

37. The problem with ignore is

It makes it nicer for you, but, for someone visiting, their talking points don't get refuted.

[Skittles]

42. it's not worth the frustration

they're so over the top ridiculous they're simply not worth the effort, and they are finite - their nonsense will end in 2017

[WorseBeforeBetter]

46. I have only four only ignore...

and none are rabid Obama fans. I rather enjoy their talking points being shot down, as well as when obvious troublemakers get the ol' heave-ho, like with our *new* Bluegrass buddy the other day...

[SammyWinstonJack]

38. +1.

[Chuuku Davis]

5. I remember when I thought I would retire at 62

Now I will work til I die it looks like
And I make good money

[WorseBeforeBetter]

7. You're not alone.

And imagine those who don't make good money.

[graywarrior]

18. Like me....so I need to go back to work

and at my age, it's a bitch.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

47. Have you found something?

I'm noticing more and more seniors in my area working retail, especially at Home Depot (think they advertise via AARP). Last summer I noticed this little old man, hunched over a broom, working at Food Lion. He could be working for socialization, but he could also be in dire financial straits. I just wanted to hug him.

[graywarrior]

52. Not yet, WorseBeforeBetter. Thanks for asking.

The last job I had was on a grant from National Senior Network which is a training program for 55+ but that is really kind of a joke.

I'm thinking I gotta develop my own business. Can't do retail coz I can't stand too long.

[littlewolf]

8. hope to retire around 65 or so ... but will probably

work until I am 70, hopefully it will be enough.
and I make good money.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

9. That's sort of where I am.

My home is paid for, thank God. I'm pursuing something now that I can do from home. After schlepping to offices for decades, the thought of ending my career in the comfort of my own home is really appealing... even in my 60s!

[SheilaT]

10. I'm in decent financial shape.

Next year, when I turn 66, I will start collecting social security and dump most of it into savings. I'll keep on working two or three more years to let the savings grow, then I'll retire.

I'm actually giving a lot of consideration to doing temp or seasonal work in retirement. The extra money would fund the travelling I love to do, and would get me out of the house and with other people.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

12. Sounds similar to a friend of mine, who is now 74.

She did manage to save (somewhat) throughout her career, inherited a little bit, and tapped into SS at 65. She's been working part-time at Crate & Barrel since she was 62 or so, and that allows for those awesome European vacations every couple of years. Travel. That's what'll keep me going! Or so I hope...

[SoCalDem]

35. My husband is finally getting to retire in April when I turn 65

He is SO ready.. We will surely miss his income, but living frugally...and moving to a cheaper state (Oregon), will help us..

We have only my piddly pension, SS for both of us, his 401-k (which was ravaged in 2008), and savings to carry us along.. fingers crossed...

[msongs]

11. looting america's retirement funds - something both dems and repubs can agree on nt

[WorseBeforeBetter]

14. Yeah, I feel a bipartisan screwing coming on.

I trust almost none of them on this.

[Jesus Malverde]

13. just watched this online based on your post. great episode. Thanks!..nt

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/retirement-gamble/

[WorseBeforeBetter]

16. Thanks for posting the link! (n/t)

[jaysunb]

15. I'm living it.....:( n/t

[WorseBeforeBetter]

17. You're not alone. :-(

Too many Americans are.

[Arugula Latte]

19. Yep. We are screwn. nt

[CBHagman]

20. Depressing, but like most "Frontline" programs...

...worth viewing.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

49. Yeah, last week it was antibiotic overuse and drug-resistant superbugs.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/hunting-the-nightmare-bacteria/

THAT was an eye-opener.

[pansypoo53219]

21. 401ks are bullshit. they are a wall street protection system when the baby boomers die.

i invest in ebayables.

[ReRe]

22. I think 401ks are...

... the biggest heist in our country's history. Nothing but a shell game, and they are STILL getting away with it. Every time I hear one of those talking heads on financial shows say "Whatever you do, don't cash out your 401k!" I wasn't enamored with them from the get-go. I knew it was a gimmick. Investing on Wall Street is like going to Las Vegas. The "House" always wins. You can't play the game unless you are a billionaire or trillionaire and can afford to throw your money away.

[A HERETIC I AM]

31. Trillionaire?

You actually think there are people with a net worth of a trillion dollars?

[ReRe]

32. I do.

[A HERETIC I AM]

34. Well, you're off by a factor of ten at least.

Carlos Slim, the Man who, over the last few years has been trading places with Bill Gates for the wealthiest man in the world has a net worth of around $70 Billion.

He would need another $930 BILLION to get to the Trillionaire level.

No single person on this planet has a net worth of a trillion dollars.

Not one.

It might give you some sort of smug satisfaction to think it is the case, or in some way justify a particular perspective of yours, but it isn't true.

You are laboring under a misapprehension.

[jtuck004]

25. Yours is likely one of the better plans. People should be learning how

to live with a lot less, getting some REGULAR exercise, lowering their expectations for safety and security in the future.

Because even if one "has theirs", a few dozen neighbors around them don't. Best to make friends now, maybe plan how all will get along together.

[AzDar]

23. Oh Jesus...an excellent program (as usual) but it is stressing me out.

We're screwed, people. Wall St. = parasites.

[fleabiscuit]

24. Thanks!

Gave me a chance to set DVR. Wife and I are almost beside ourselves thinking about retirement. It seems like all our planning ahead is under attack.

[jtuck004]

26. Info to add to this - from Dr Housing Bubble...

http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/house-broken-americans-equity-in-housing-american-net-worth-real-estate/

Some seriously tragic times ahead for many. Don't DARE let them chain Social Security, and, frankly, we ought to be increasing it to address the increasing poverty among the older folks, which is going to increase going forward. It can't do anything else but that at this point.

Also, our economy is being backstopped by over a trillion dollars a year being given to banks. When that stops, expect interest rates to rise and for the now smaller group, that home you thought you were going to sell at 65 (when a lot of people sell) may well be where you are for the rest of your life, and is almost certainly going to be worth less than you think.

You are the only one who can decide if that is good or bad - but plan accordingly.

[avaistheone1]

27. Why are the boomers being screwed with?

I don't like it.

[flamingdem]

28. All this and the younger generation/s resentful of us

That includes many on DU who will use every opportunity to attack Boomers for "getting theirs". ... NOT

[SammyWinstonJack]

39. A favored attack, for some....too be sure.

[liberal_at_heart]

29. K&R

[johnd83]

30. It isn't better for the younger folks

a lot of them can't even get work to begin with. Thankfully my skills are in demand but many people my age are screwed.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

50. Yep. The system works, IF people are employed...

paying it forward. I'll use my mother as an example: She worked (FT and PT) and collects Social Security, she collects a small amount from my father's Social Security, AND she collects a schweet military/government pension from my stepfather. These three each worked decades, never making tons of money, but always having job security, affordable healthcare, affordable housing, affordable college educations for their kids, etc. This country is so far off course I don't even recognize it.

Get Americans back to work... and RAISE THE STINKIN' CAP.

[SlipperySlope]

36. I expect now to get screwed out of my 401(k).

The 401(k) movement started to take off about the time I entered the workplace. I have religiously contributed to mine for decades and long planned to make it the cornerstone of my retirement.

I now fully expect to get screwed out of my 401(k) one way or another. Collectively they are too big of a pile of money for the powers-that-be to ignore when the next crisis comes.

[A HERETIC I AM]

40. Please explain the mechanism by which that would occur.

I encourage you to read up on how these accounts work, and if you have more than one (you left a job that had a 401(k) but didn't roll it to an IRA) then you need to get some professional guidance on how to make sure you don't get "screwed".

This sort of post indicates to me that you lack a proper understanding of how these accounts work, what your options are and how to properly manage the funds held therein.

Read and/or get help, for crying out loud.

[SlipperySlope]

41. Here are the mechanisms by which I could get screwed.

#1: Government/banking system confiscation of a portion of all 401(k) balances (aka a Cyprus style bail-in).
#2: Government forcing 401(k) balances into bonds, which are then repaid at a lesser value (aka Argentina or Poland).
#3: Implementation of means testing of other benefits based on 401(k) balances.

I know exactly how the accounts work today. My fear is that it is inevitable some future change in the law will effectively be a seizure or reduction in value of what I've saved. Many countries around the world have been eying (or have dipped into) private pension accounts.

[liberal_at_heart]

43. I never understood why there are limits on how much you can contribute to a 401(k) every year.

What if you can't start saving until your 40's or 50's? How do you catch up to where you are suppose to be?

[A HERETIC I AM]

48. There are no limits to how much you can put away in a normal investment account.

There is nothing stopping you from opening an account at a brokerage and putting every penny you like into it. It's just that those types of accounts are not tax deferred, so you will owe taxes on any gains you have on an annual basis.

The reason there are limits to 401(k) and IRA contributions is because of taxation. It would be impractical for you to be able to put away every penny you earned into a tax deferred account.

DU'ers continuously lament about the tax structure in this country, and rightly so, but how practical would it be if there were no limits to how much income could be tax deferred?

There are what are known as "Catch-Up' provisions to both 401(k)'s and IRA's.

Just Google "401(k) catch-up provision" to learn more.


FWIW, the overwhelming majority of Americans that are able to participate in a 401(k) don't contribute anything close to the limit. That includes me.

[A HERETIC I AM]

45. The first two examples DO NOT APPLY to the United States

The 3rd one already exists.

I know exactly how the accounts work today.

I would suggest you need to do a bit more research.

[IADEMO2004]

44. SW Iowa nursing home bed, shared room $5000.00/mo.

Haircuts extra, toothbrush extra,..............................

[WorseBeforeBetter]

51. That's insane.

This just came to mind as I read your post...

Life and Death in Assisted Living

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/social-issues/life-and-death-in-assisted-living/life-death-in-assisted-living-theyre-not-treating-mom-well/

Exorbitant costs and shitty care.

[Liberal_in_LA]

53. new episode or rerun?

[WorseBeforeBetter]

54. Re-run. I missed it the first go-round. (n/t)

[Liberal_in_LA]

55. ok, I think I saw part of it