2007年3月10日 星期六

Help A Bloke Out -- Almost 60 Years Old, No Retirement Funds

Help A Bloke Out -- Almost 60 Years Old, No Retirement Funds

Mar 6, 2007

When an American blogger wrote that he is almost 60 and has no pension funds or retirement funds coming to him because he led a carefree life and never worked more than three years at one job and never created a retirement fund, he asked readers worldwide:

"I wonder if any news magazines or newspapers have reported on anothertrend: older people who have no retirement funds, no big income comingin after they retire, because they worked all their lives at odd jobsand occasional jobs, and lived okay, but now at age 60 or so, like me,they have no retirement fund, no pension, no company benefits,nothing, nada. I am debt free, never been in debt, but I am basicallyin big doodoo for the future. If I live that long, from 60 to 80, I will have no income to speak of. What to do? Are others in thissituation in the USA? I have led a charmed life by the way, noregrets. But need help planning for the financial future I do not have now."

The answers from fellow bloggers and readers on the Internet was immediate.

1. "The good ol' USA supports charmed lifestyles like this almost intoinfinity for all us citizens," wrote one reader. "But I'd have to be perfectly honest - my thought is it's not that charmed when you'restuck with only Social Security and Medicaid. You still have 5 years to contribute to retirement accounts; IRS.gov will detail yourqualifications. May the sun continue to shine on you as you save for rainy days."

2. Another reader noted: "My father is in the same situation. He ishoping that we'll completely support him with a little cottage outback. It's either that or run to China to teach English there. . . Ihope you develop a better plan than he did!"

3. Another reader wrote" "What an awful situation and one I wonder aboutevery time I see someone's grandparents treating them lavishly to"this and that." Poor guy. Now that companies don't offer theretirement they did years ago, I am afraid many will find themselvesin situations like this. It is a harsh reality that your retirement isall up to you. Harsher is the fact that children will be forced toprovide for their parents that did not plan for their own retirements,thus crippling their own abilites to plan properly or live a charmedlife."

4,. Another reader cautioned: "Well, first there's a heart issue thatneeds to be resolved. The time for living for the moment is past.Next, you need to develop an income. You should be able get a jobdoing something. Greeters at Walmart and delivering pizzas don't takespecial skills and can be started now. You can also take an inventoryof your possessions and sell of what you don't need. This can be usedto establish some savings. Those are beginning steps. You will need todevelop a budget and a long term plan. There's nothing here you don'talready know. There are no freebies to claim. Perhaps you have closefamily or friends to help you keep accounts?"

5. Said another reader: "One more suggestion, sir: - see if you can geta job with benefits - soon! Perhaps there is a local universitynearby. They hire people with diverse backgrounds for all kinds ofjobs (you said odd jobs and handywork - perhaps maintenance, lawncare, janitorial, etc.) and they often offer excellent benefitpackages, if not great pay!"

5.5 "All is not lost," write another reader. "You can continue working ata job that has benefits until you die basically. You'll need itbecause it's unlikely that SS will be enough to support you to live.And you need to work until 65 when Medicare kicks in."

6. One person noted: "Sorry for the reality check. It's a tough life.Soon I think you'll be joined by many other people who haven't savedanything either. Maybe the New York Times will write about this issuein a future edition."

7. Said another reader: "I know a wonderful woman in a similar position -she owned her own travel agency for many years and worked very hard tobe a successful business owner and favorite aunt of all her littleones. Her plan was to work until she was about 65, sell the businessto get some more cash in the bank to pay for medical insurance duringretirement, and travel around to see all her neices and nephews.Unfortunately she was 60 at the time of 9/11, and the travel industrybasically tanked, combined with the increasing popularity of consumersbooking travel online themselves... in other words, her businesswasn't worth much of anything, and so her plan for having some medicalsavings money was out. She found out that you can work at Jewel, agrocery store chain in Chicago, for just 12 hours a week and get fullbenefits. So, that's what she has been doing - she works a few hours aweek as a cashier, gets to spend time with her "young friends" as shecalls them, and gets great benefits - on top of it, she makes a littleextra money which she banks for medical savings and travel. Jewelworkers are unionized so I think that's the key to getting goodbenefits and a nice hourly wage. I also understand that Starbucksgives full benefits for part time workers as well, so you might wantto check that out too."

8. "You could check out places to live in other countries," added a reader. " There are lots of Americans living in really cheap places.So you'd have a network of English speaking people to step into. Work3-4 jobs until then or while you can to get ahead.

9. Said another: "I wonder what a "charmed life" means? And I wonder ifyou paid FICA while working those odd jobs. If not, then you doesn'teven have social security coming in. Oops!"

10. "You are going to have to work for the rest of your life," advised another reader."The bottom line is this: you won't be able to retire. You'll have tokeep working, possibly for the rest of your life."

11. One reporter added: "I wonder now, after reading the comments , if there might be an important media story for some enterprising reporterfor New York Times, say, to write about people like you, and I am surethere are LOTS, and how the future might unfold. if at all. What dopeople like you do? The New York Times recently did a story aboutpeople trying to get out of debt, and keeping blogs about it to helpothers, and now I think there might be a good story for the New YorkTimes or some other newspaper or magazine, about people without anyparachute or retirement funds coming in."

COMMENTS?

4 則留言:

JW 提到...

I'm in a very similar situation. I'm over 40 with no retirement savings.

DANIELBLOOM 提到...

There must be LOTS of people like this out in the USA, over 40, over 50, over 60, without any retirement savings or pension funds coming in. How will they survive? Medicare and Soc Security will help a bit. But this could be a big media story, and maybe result in some positive results, rather than just being a negative story. I hope some enterprising reporter with a positive view can help these people, and also help readers understand the situations some people are in. Life happens happens.

DANIELBLOOM 提到...

Determined to Have Enough Money for Old Age, Some Workers with No
Retirement Funds or Pensions Turn to Blogs for Fiscal Healing

by Feature News Service Worldwide
Alistair Jones, Staff Reporter



When a man who calls himself online "Retire Poor" discovered a few
weeks ago that he has every little money coming in for his old
age, he spread the news on a blog. Not to gain sympathy, but attract
answers, if there are any. Because "Poor Man", 58, has worked since he
was 22, but never for very long at any one job, and he has no money
set up for his old age. Oops! (That's the name of his blog, too.)

"Poor Man" says he does not talk to his family or friends about his
dire finances, and says he is ashamed of his financial predicament,
although he blames no one but himself, while also confessing his has
lived "a full wonderful life" as a writer, world traveller and "bon
vivant". If, that is, one can be a bon vivant with little money in
the bank. He says he did it his way and has "no regrets".

"But I am worried about the next 20 years," he confesses on his blog.

"Poor Man" has done something that would have been unthinkable - and
impossible - a generation ago: he goes online and posts intimate
details of his financial life, including his net worth ("marginal"),
the balance of his savings account (US$35,000), and concerns he has
about surviving into old age. "If" he survives, he says.


His blog, noretirementnopensionoops.blogspot.com, is one of dozens that have sprung up in
recent years that take advantage of Internet anonymity to reveal to
strangers fiscal intimacies the authors might not tell their closest
friends.

A decade after the Internet became a public stage for revelations from
the bedroom, it is now peering into the really private stuff:
'retirement worries of baby boomers who ''lived recklessly'', as
''Poor Man'' admits.

He says that the feedback from readers has not always been gentle.
"People have very strong feelings about people like me who lived so
recklessly," he said in a recent email. "People are appalled by
stupidity."

"Just being in the situation I am in is offensive to a lot of people,"
he added. "People levy personal attacks for mistakes I acknowledge. I
don't think that's quite necessary."


But Poor Man also said the comments he has gotten have been mostly
overwhelming supportive.

"I feel embarrassed about it," he says of his old age problems. "I try
not to, though. I try to put a spin on it when I start to get too
down. I think to myself: I can solve this problem, too."

DANIELBLOOM 提到...

New Retirement Study Says Boomers are Cooked

Since 1991, a Retirement Confidence Survey of Americans has been conducted each year, and the results are scarier than ever.

The highlights of the just-released 2007 survey include:

A large percentage of Americans are ignorant of the problems the U.S. retirement system is experiencing, and workers are not adapting.

Many workers are counting on employer-provided retirement benefits that are increasingly unavailable.

Almost half of workers saving for retirement report total savings and investments (not including the value of their primary residence or any defined benefit plans) of less than $25,000.

Check out the details of the Retirement Confidence Survey, brought to you by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the research firm of Mathew Greenwald & Associates.

-- from the BOOMER CHRONICLES