Worrying statistics about American's retirement future

In America today, 55% of seniors are trying to survive on less than $25,000 a year.

Only 1 in 10 low-income workers between the ages of 51 and 64 had a retirement account balance in 2019, compared to 1 in 5 in 2007, according to a July report from the Government Accountability Office. (about 15% of the U.S. population are considered to be in low income households)

'Millions of Americans are retiring with no savings': Report reveals about 90% of lower-income US workers over 50 have nothing stashed away for retirement -- here's how to catch up, Serah Louis, Moneywise

26% of non-retired Americans have no retirement savings.

As of September 2022, most people only got an average of $1,547 per month for Social Security, which is only a little more $18,500 a year.

In one survey, 61% of older middle aged Americans said they are more afraid of running out of money than they are of death.

The average age of retirement for Americans is 66, according to a Gallup poll, which is up from age 60 in the 1990s.

Of the 47.8 million Americans ages 65 and older, the average income is only $38,515, according to the U.S. Census, and their average net worth is $170,516.

46% of Americans between the ages of 40 to 49 have pulled money out from their retirement plan before retirement. (Pulling money out of a retirement plan prematurely often comes with financial tax penalties so usually financial planners advise against this)

 

Well there are no quick and easy fixes for this.

 

Yeahwell, when people feel like they’re getting a fair deal, feeling like they have a reasonable opportunity to improve their lifestyle, feel like they’re getting as much as they’re giving, crime goes down and people feel satisfied. How is crime doing today?

 

wages are not keeping up, that is for sure, and the FED raised rates to make sure that they would not

 

If there was not inflation in the first place, wages would not have needed to keep up, would they?

And if interest rates don't go up to keep up with inflation, then old retired people are going to find that their savings are eaten up by inflation.

 

part of capitalism, my friend... corporations like to raise prices, not so much lower them

course people like to sell houses for more them they bought them, etc... too

 

I'll pay off my house roundabouts the same time I'm a senior. Once I do that, $18000/year will have me living the high life, what with virtually no housing costs.

...not that its likely there'll still be any SS by then.

 

And corporations would have already raised their prices as much as they possibly could.

So when we see prices on the increase, it means something else is happening.

 

Try living in New Jersey or California on $18000/year. That would be a complete joke.
Even with a paid off house, I think it would be a financial squeeze and you'd live like a poor person and worry about some major unexpected expense.

But yes, some parts of the U.S. are much cheaper to live in than others.

 

I dunno what to tell people living in New Jersey or California, except for what I've already been telling them for years- move somewhere else! At a certain point, you gotta just let folks that are determined to screw themselves go ahead and do it and not let it get to you. They know what they're doing and no one can make them make better choices.

 

yes, it means there is also a supply issue due to covid

 

The fed is not part of capitalism.

 

Yep. Pensions are a thing of the past, and most people spend their money before retirement.

Its a banking cartel, so its very much a part of it, and it was the banks who lobbied heavily to replace pensions with 401K accounts.

Capitalism is a good thing, but an entity like the Fed. which is a cartel with government backing is not a good thing.

$18K would not be enough in most parts of Florida either, due a high property taxes and insurance. As a matter of fact Miami is the least affordable place to live in the nation.

 

The Fed has nothing to do with any sort of free market. It is a creature of the state.

 

I think you should read up about it.

 

The Fed was created by law. It's is not a product of the free market.

 

Its both. Its a banking cartel who tricked Congress to create a law to serve themselves, especially when they need to be bailed out. The banks are private and products of free markets.

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.” - Jeffie

 

It's not a free market institution. It's a legal cartel. It was created by law and only exists because the law makes it exist.

 

I'm not going to get into the endless rounds of repetitions with you. The banks in the cartel are private, but feel free to disagree.

Have a nice day

 

The fed is a creature of federal legislation. It would not exist in a free market.

 

How about you start a separate thread to discuss that?

So we can keep the discussion focused on topic.

 

More baby boomers are falling into HOMELESSNESS thanks to death of spouse, expensive medical emergency or soaring rents - and many are too frail to climb bunk beds in shelters

The fastest-growing segment of the homeless population is people aged over 65
Rising rent prices and soaring medical bills forcing seniors from their homes and onto the streets

"The fact that we are seeing elderly homelessness is something that we have not seen since the Great Depression," said Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania social policy professor.

Hot spots for senior homelessness include Miami, Denver and Columbus, Ohio.​

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-homeless-65-increasing-numbers-florida.html , Harriet Alexander, Daily Mail, 12 September 2023

 

The low-income populous aren't saving for retirement? That's OK! They don't make enough to save anyway. They are going to qualify for low-income benefits when they retire. Don't worry about them. They would have had to spend down any little money they had saved to qualify for those benefits anyway.

It's the middle class you have to worry about. They won't qualify for the low-income benefits, and they won't be able to afford to live. See:
The Middle Class Can No Longer Afford Rent In America
Duration:10:26.

 

Sure there are. You mean there are no fixes that will be approved by a bought-out congress and president.

 

That’s also true of capitalism.