43% have Less than $10k for Retirement

[mbig]

27% have less than $1000

This is a Huge problem.
Do all these people think they'll be living on Social Security?
The real buying power of SS benefits will undoubtedly decrease due to the financial fix.
Are we talking Tens of Millions on the street, or just above in Tin/mobile housing?

Most Americans still unprepared for retirement - survey - Yahoo! Finance

Most Americans still unprepared for retirement - survey
Chavon Sutton
March 9, 2010

The percentage of American workers with virtually No retirement savings grew for the third straight year, according to a survey released Tuesday.

The percentage of workers who said they have less than $10,000 in savings grew to 43% in 2010, from 39% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual Retirement Confidence Survey. That excludes the value of primary homes and defined-benefit pension plans.

Workers who said they had less than $1,000 jumped to 27%, from 20% in 2009.

Confidence in ability to save enough for a comfortable retirement hovered at 16% of respondents, the second lowest point in the 20-year history of the survey.

A drop in the bucket

"Americans' attitudes toward retirement have clearly tracked the economy the last couple of years, and that seems to be the case in 2010," said Jack VanDerhei, EBRI's research director and co-author of the survey, in a statement.

The percentage of workers who said they have saved for retirement fell to 69%, from 75% in 2009.......

 

[Slartibartfast]

I am in my very early 30s and I only have about 35k overall and I kick myself monthly for not doing enough (JP Morgan says it will be worth about 300k when I retire though, so maybe I am doing enough). These kinds of stats are always mind boggling.

 

[mbig]

Sounds like you're fine and you haven't even hit your peak earnings years yet.
I think in 35 years you'll need even more than 300K to be comfy.
A full tank of gas may cost $200 in 35 years.
But at your age with those savings, you're clearly a responsible individual.

The consumerist meatality of this country is amazing. People routinely spend all they have- and future-have with credit cards.

Real dollar benefits of Social Security are going to be worth even less than it is at present. The demographics are just such that a smaller base Can't pay for the real dollar retirement benefits being paid presently.

Alot of retirees, even now, are in very tight situations paying for necessities, or even choosing which necessity they can pay for. Food, Prescriptions, Utilities etc.
This promises to get much worse.
You wonder what people are thinking.
They're not.
-

 

[Slartibartfast]

Yeah. Right now I only make about 50k, but that has only been over the last two years. Before than it was about 38k.

I am trying to figure out how to make 60k+ though. Its not the best economic environment for it, but it won't happen if I don't try and make the necessary investments into my skill set.

I do have 4k in credit card debt, but that is because my wife stopped working to finish college and I had to use it for some emergencies. I plan to pay it off when she graduates in a couple of months and goes back to working, hopefully making somewhere between 35k and 42k depending on the exact position she gets. Worst case, she makes minimum wage for a while, but that would still be enough to cover our expenses and have a little extra.

My biggest problem is 45k in student loan debt that I am going to try and work off when my wife gets the job she is going for, but it will get paid down eventually anyway due to the payment schedule whether or not I do anything.

Retirement is probably something I worry way too much about at this point, but I've been poor and IT SUCKS.

 

[Ikari]

I am in my very early 30s and I only have about 35k overall and I kick myself monthly for not doing enough (JP Morgan says it will be worth about 300k when I retire though, so maybe I am doing enough). These kinds of stats are always mind boggling.

35K is pretty good. I ain't got **** and I just clicked over to my 30's. I was in college for most of my 20's so it's hard to save when you're in school. Now I have a PhD in physics, but you don't make a lot of money as a post-doc. it's probably why scientists don't really ever retire.

 

[liblady]

I am in my very early 30s and I only have about 35k overall and I kick myself monthly for not doing enough (JP Morgan says it will be worth about 300k when I retire though, so maybe I am doing enough). These kinds of stats are always mind boggling.

that's a lot better than i was doing at your age.

 

[Slartibartfast]

35K is pretty good. I ain't got **** and I just clicked over to my 30's. I was in college for most of my 20's so it's hard to save when you're in school. Now I have a PhD in physics, but you don't make a lot of money as a post-doc. it's probably why scientists don't really ever retire.

I failed out of college due to a lack of interest. However, I went back and graduated about two years ago at night school. I didn't get the degree I wanted, but its better than having nothing. I am working on a plan to get my masters over the next 3 years.

My advice is to finish college the first time around. Waking up at 4:30 AM to go to work, so you can get off by 2 and go to college until 10 pm sucks. It sucks badly.

I can do a masters online though, so it should be an easier experience.

 

[liblady]

Yeah. Right now I only make about 50k, but that has only been over the last two years. Before than it was about 38k.

I am trying to figure out how to make 60k+ though. Its not the best economic environment for it, but it won't happen if I don't try and make the necessary investments into my skill set.

I do have 4k in credit card debt, but that is because my wife stopped working to finish college and I had to use it for some emergencies. I plan to pay it off when she graduates in a couple of months and goes back to working, hopefully making somewhere between 35k and 42k depending on the exact position she gets. Worst case, she makes minimum wage for a while, but that would still be enough to cover our expenses and have a little extra.

My biggest problem is 45k in student loan debt that I am going to try and work off when my wife gets the job she is going for, but it will get paid down eventually anyway due to the payment schedule whether or not I do anything.

Retirement is probably something I worry way too much about at this point, but I've been poor and IT SUCKS.

don't WORRY about it, plan for it. but don't forget to have a good time in the process, you never know what life will bring.

 

[Slartibartfast]

don't WORRY about it, plan for it. but don't forget to have a good time in the process, you never know what life will bring.

Its just my personality. I tend to be a bit of a control freak, but that's probably because of my experiences when making $8 per hour and the lack of control over my life that I felt. It scared the hell out of me.

 

[mbig]

Yeah. Right now I only make about 50k, but that has only been over the last two years. Before than it was about 38k.

I am trying to figure out how to make 60k+ though. Its not the best economic environment for it, but it won't happen if I don't try and make the necessary investments into my skill set.

I do have 4k in credit card debt, but that is because my wife stopped working to finish college and I had to use it for some emergencies. I plan to pay it off when she graduates in a couple of months and goes back to working, hopefully making somewhere between 35k and 42k depending on the exact position she gets. Worst case, she makes minimum wage for a while, but that would still be enough to cover our expenses and have a little extra.

My biggest problem is 45k in student loan debt that I am going to try and work off when my wife gets the job she is going for, but it will get paid down eventually anyway due to the payment schedule whether or not I do anything.

Retirement is probably something I worry way too much about at this point, but I've been poor and IT SUCKS.

You're still very young and when your wife gets a job your situation will undoubtedly improve.

Virtually all that income will go to the 'New Bottom Line', which you can choose a combo of life-style improvement and savings.

If you save Just 10% of Her income alone, that will probably/My guess Double your future nut.
Maybe More depending on children, etc, etc.
The Second income is much more highly savable too.
and she'll double your SS benefits as well,

College debt is an Investment that pays good returns, and has low rates. It's not like debt incurred in paying for a Cruise or endless clothes, and costs 17% to finance.

You're good.

 

[liblady]

Its just my personality. I tend to be a bit of a control freak, but that's probably because of my experiences when making $8 per hour and the lack of control over my life that I felt. It scared the hell out of me.

i grew up very poor......and have made much less than 8 per hr. but you SERIOUSLY don't want to be one of those people who save everything for retirtement and then die 6months after you retire.

 

[Slartibartfast]

i grew up very poor......and have made much less than 8 per hr. but you SERIOUSLY don't want to be one of those people who save everything for retirtement and then die 6months after you retire.

I grew up wealthy, so being poor was a shock to me. But I get your point and thanks to the advice.

My wife grew up very poor, so she is much more relaxed about things

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Your prime saving's years are in your late 40's and 50. Ie when your childern are grown and your hous is paid for

You dont get the compounding of instrest that you could have gotten when younger

As for the 43% with less then 10K

Does that 10K include 401k's etc, and pension plans they may be a part of?

Or is is just the amount of private savings the person has

 

[RightinNYC]

And that's a huge downside of the public perception of Social Security as a retirement plan as opposed to the subsistence-level safety net it was designed as.

 

[Mach]

Alot of retirees, even now, are in very tight situations paying for necessities, or even choosing which necessity they can pay for. Food, Prescriptions, Utilities etc.
This promises to get much worse.
You wonder what people are thinking.
They're not.
-

Obligatory cynicism: Why exactly do they have to think about this? Everyone knows they will get into crisis just as you predicted, and is obvious...and when they do they will just vote to take from those who did plan ahead, and get some scratch for their needs the easy way. Isn't that precisely what happened for SS, medicare, and now healthcare? Business as usual.
====================

How you plan for your retirement:
1. Call your 401K/IRA or bank to set up a free meeting to get retirement counseling.
2. If you prefer self-research, the internet has gobs of retirement and calculators.
3. Spend a few hours and figure out what you need.

Rule of thumb. You can have an income per year of 4% times your nest egg. So if you saved $1M by retirement, for 30 years it's probable that you could comfortably withdraw 4% = $40K per year. This also assumes your nest egg is invested in a diverse portfolio.
Minus cap gains tax, plus SS.

Wow, rocket science right? I mean, we better nationalize the system because it's too complicated for all but the most brilliant?

Most people avoid this because they are infantalized by school and parents. You fear reading about it because you fear discovering just how bad off you are, or just how much you don't know. Welcome to the mother ****ing club! We all feel that way, ignore it, and learn it. In two days you'll know about 70% of what's important in retirement for the average individual. Be tough on yourself, else, someone else will glaldy take advantage of you.

 

[liblady]

Obligatory cynicism: Why exactly do they have to think about this? Everyone knows they will get into crisis just as you predicted, and is obvious...and when they do they will just vote to take from those who did plan ahead, and get some scratch for their needs the easy way. Isn't that precisely what happened for SS, medicare, and now healthcare? Business as usual.
====================

How you plan for your retirement:
1. Call your 401K/IRA or bank to set up a free meeting to get retirement counseling.
2. If you prefer self-research, the internet has gobs of retirement and calculators.
3. Spend a few hours and figure out what you need.

Rule of thumb. You can have an income per year of 4% times your nest egg. So if you saved $1M by retirement, for 30 years it's probable that you could comfortably withdraw 4% = $40K per year. This also assumes your nest egg is invested in a diverse portfolio.
Minus cap gains tax, plus SS.

Wow, rocket science right? I mean, we better nationalize the system because it's too complicated for all but the most brilliant?

Most people avoid this because they are infantalized by school and parents. You fear reading about it because you fear discovering just how bad off you are, or just how much you don't know. Welcome to the mother ****ing club! We all feel that way, ignore it, and learn it. In two days you'll know about 70% of what's important in retirement for the average individual. Be tough on yourself, else, someone else will glaldy take advantage of you.

and many, many people can't save that much money for retirement.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

27% have less than $1000

This is a Huge problem.
Do all these people think they'll be living on Social Security?
The real buying power of SS benefits will undoubtedly decrease due to the financial fix.
Are we talking Tens of Millions on the street, or just above in Tin/mobile housing?

Most Americans still unprepared for retirement - survey - Yahoo! Finance

I'm doing alright, I'm 26 and I have about $5500 in my 401k and now that I get the full contribution from my employer it will go up pretty quick through the next couple of years.

I've got other investments that bring me over the $10k mark which is pretty good considering I was heavily in debt about 2-3 years ago.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

and many, many people can't save that much money for retirement.

I'm usually pretty mean about beating people over the head for not saving but most everyone can do it.
There are a great many people that are addicted to spending money and it takes a lot of work to train yourself not to do it.

I try to work with people at my job to help train themselves, in a very conservative way, to not spend money but instead save and invest it.

It doesn't seem to be a priority for folks to do it.

 

[winston53660]

I'm usually pretty mean about beating people over the head for spending money but most everyone can do it.
There are a great many people that are addicted to spending money and it takes a lot of work to train yourself not to do it.

I try to work with people at my job to help train themselves, in a very conservative way, to not spend money but instead save and invest it.

It doesn't seem to be a priority for folks to do it.

Oh you know my girlfriend:lol:

I can not tell you how many times she has gotten her phone cut off and what not. GRRRRR

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

Oh you know my girlfriend:lol:

I can not tell you how many times she has gotten her phone cut off and what not. GRRRRR

:lol: have always had enough to barely pay most of my bills but I'll admit to having the repo guy looking for my car.

It's like removing a weight to be out of debt.
Much happier now because of it.

 

[RightinNYC]

and many, many people can't save that much money for retirement.

And those people shouldn't expect to be retiring 30 years before they die.

 

[Mach]

and many, many people can't save that much money for retirement.

They don't, or didn't.
They most certainly could have, or can.

What possible obstruction is there to working and saving? Gremlins in their bank account? I saved since my first job stocking groceries for minimum wage. How is it fair to expect me to pay for someone else? HOW! Maybe we should take your sailboat because it's frivilous, and pay for someones healthcare? Of course not. But why can't you support other people's sailboats (..yachts, jets)

I think we all know what really happens, let's not fool ourselves in a public forum. We all were in school and saw how people behave, we worked with people and saw how they behaved when the boss wasn't looking. About half the population has no interest in behaving responsibly, and they rationalize it all their life. They deny, deny deny...and they get fearful, resentful, envious, and unethical...in solving their issue. Meanwhile the people who work hard and sacrifice, are mocked and ridiculed...and then stolen from. The mobs are just bullies.

 

[aps]

I feel very lucky because I have been excellent about saving for my retirement. My 401K is in the 6 figures and I'm in my early 40s. I max out with what I can contribute to my 401K each year, as does my husband, who has even more money than I have in his 401K. I have no intention of relying on Social Security or even thinking it will still exist when I retire (even though I have been paying into the system since I was 16 years old).

 

[Mach]

i grew up very poor......and have made much less than 8 per hr. but you SERIOUSLY don't want to be one of those people who save everything for retirtement and then die 6months after you retire.

Why not? That's the worse retirement advice I've ever heard.

People should lead the live they choose to live. If they don't want to save for fear of dying, don't save. But then why would you then claim they actually DID need to save, and that they can then be justified in taking from those who did sacrifice to save? It's mind boggling.

If you have regrets about your life when you are close to dying, that's your business, not mine. I have sacrificed and worked to be financially independant and the day I stop full-time work (38?) if I'm diagnosed with a terminal disease and have 6 months to live, I won't regret a second of it.

I have specifically told my wife on multiple occassions, be sure to make sure anyone intersted knows that I lived responsibly, by choice, and that I don't regret any of it. And in fact, I'd be proud of it.

You are essentially promoting "Planning for Failure". Any wonder why so many fail?

 

[Mach]

I feel very lucky because I have been excellent about saving for my retirement. My 401K is in the 6 figures and I'm in my early 40s. I max out with what I can contribute to my 401K each year, as does my husband, who has even more money than I have in his 401K. I have no intention of relying on Social Security or even thinking it will still exist when I retire (even though I have been paying into the system since I was 16 years old).

Was it luck? Did you win the lottery or was it all from inheritance?

Or did you and your husband work and save and invest? I'm curious because I doubt it's luck you should be feeling, but instead satisfaction of a job wel done?