Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned

   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #861  
There is a cost so I guess the question is who foots the bill?

More seniors are going to reverse mortgages...

My neighbor will be 106 next month... two years ago she was active but this last year health is going down...

Built her home 67 years ago and a widow the last 40 and her only child and only great grandchild predeceased her...

I was able to help her get a reverse mortgage and she is now able to stay in her home and afford home care....

She made it well past 100 on social security and a $300 monthly pension after investments exhausted...

Her equity will carry her for the rest of her life...
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #862  
Curious, who you think is responsible for this situation?
Just an observation of what happens to elderly people that for whatever reason do not have any retirement savings. All kinds of reasons. Poor planning. No planning. Drinking. Drugs. Mental illness. Misfortune. Poor health.

One major reason here in South Bend was (most are dead now) loss of pension. Studebaker was a major employer here. The company went belly up and their pension fund failed. Thousands of people lost their pensions. It was the major factor in the establishment of ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act).


When I got hired at my last employer back in 1987, I was kinda shocked at the number of old people working there part-time. It wasn't because it was a great place to work. It was because they all lost their pensions at Studebaker and had to keep working until they died. Many had to live in the worst parts of town because that's all they could afford. Some had OK housing, places that I would like to live in. But they were not paid off, so they had to keep working. These were folks in their 70s and 80s doing manual labor, standing all day. I became pretty good friends with most of them. Good folks with bad fortune.

You want some compelling reading, search up the Studebaker pension failure.

We have a very large homeless population here. I don't know the back story on most of them. Many are veterans with PTSD, mental illness, alcohol and drug issues. They don't have the best of living conditions. Wife and I also volunteer at the food bank when able. Lots of elderly people served by that organization.

Anyhow, many reasons elderly people end up with no savings.
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #863  
^^ With all due respect to you and Moss, both of which I greatly admire:

Boo Hoo !!
I can understand that feeling.

However, I've met quite a few folks that just got screwed by life through no fault of their own. I think a large portion of people living in poverty in our area now have little to no education or mental health issues, or both. I don't think they're lazy. I think they never got the tools to succeed when they were young. Many are unemployable. They have no skills. None.

What are you gonna do with a sizable population of uneducated, unskilled people? Cut em all off from any source of subsidized housing and food and then you got a heard of angry, hungry, homeless people doing whatever they need to do to survive.

You could make them work for assistance. I still wish someone would explore that more. Gotta break that cycle somehow.
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #864  
As stated no plan can be a viable option for some… all depends on expectations.

The wait for subsidized housing often is many years but expedited for seniors.

People living in the street I encounter and I encounter a lot are seldom of retirement age… most teens to about 40.

Many have burned too many bridges when it comes to family/friends.

Others don’t like rules… some have pets they couldn’t keep and some simply don’t have income and or programs in place.

A difficult situation for sure… the nearby supermarket spent over 9k cleaning up a camp… and now ongoing security to keep clear as an unbelievable amount of trash accumulated… plus utility theft.
My brother in law works with homeless men in Arizona. He said most are mentally ill, uneducated, do not like rules, and have a hard time living in group settings. All they really want is a roof over their head, a place to sleep without getting stabbed, and something to eat.
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #865  
Just an observation of what happens to elderly people that for whatever reason do not have any retirement savings. All kinds of reasons. Poor planning. No planning. Drinking. Drugs. Mental illness. Misfortune. Poor health.

One major reason here in South Bend was (most are dead now) loss of pension. Studebaker was a major employer here. The company went belly up and their pension fund failed. Thousands of people lost their pensions. It was the major factor in the establishment of ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act).


When I got hired at my last employer back in 1987, I was kinda shocked at the number of old people working there part-time. It wasn't because it was a great place to work. It was because they all lost their pensions at Studebaker and had to keep working until they died. Many had to live in the worst parts of town because that's all they could afford. Some had OK housing, places that I would like to live in. But they were not paid off, so they had to keep working. These were folks in their 70s and 80s doing manual labor, standing all day. I became pretty good friends with most of them. Good folks with bad fortune.

You want some compelling reading, search up the Studebaker pension failure.

We have a very large homeless population here. I don't know the back story on most of them. Many are veterans with PTSD, mental illness, alcohol and drug issues. They don't have the best of living conditions. Wife and I also volunteer at the food bank when able. Lots of elderly people served by that organization.

Anyhow, many reasons elderly people end up with no savings.
Understand but Studebaker is a very small slice of the pie that is not not worth focusing on. Your other reasons are the majority of the problem. Mental issues (unrelated to drugs, etc.) we all own.
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #866  
There are people out there that deserve help and there are also people that don't. How do you determine who does and who doesn't.

I know of a family where one brother saved and managed to retire early. The other brother didn't and is dependent on inheriting a retirement income. Both were raised in the same household so you have to assume by the same set of values and had similar opportunities.

As for the veterans that need assistance, I think our country has failed to provide the assistance they deserve. Unfortunately I don't have any answers. There are individuals that are trying to help but more is needed, and it's not just money, but also people's time.
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #867  
Unfortunately, the real discussion that needs to be had about poverty, homelessness, and public support is not allowed in this venue.

As for retirement, our youngest is a HS Senior. Once she graduates, we are done. We may, if needed, do some consulting or contract work. That will only be necessary if, as seems likely, inflation goes big and goes long. We are in our fifties and have planned for this most of our 30+ years together. Like many in our situation, we have been frugal and did not plan on SS or a company pension to be our primary nest egg. We have both, but they pale in comparison to money we have put in 401k or other long term investments.
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #868  
Understand but Studebaker is a very small slice of the pie that is not not worth focusing on. Your other reasons are the majority of the problem. Mental issues (unrelated to drugs, etc.) we all own.
Apparently that single pension failure is neither small nor unimportant in South Bend. Most problems are local in nature.
Hardship is easy to overlook for those that never experienced much or any.
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #869  
Look for universal income to increase as it is already here in a small scale roll.out.
 
   / Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned #870  
One explanation for the differences in the quality of life at all stages of life - the ability to delay gratification.


And BTW, I am not a good example of this trait - a slow learner and no mentor - but I do agree with the sentiment.
 
 
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