Increasing the Retirement Age
Maybe this topic is not appropriate for WSO as The Street is known for attracting workaholics. Still I have to ask the question, do you guys really want to be working well into your 70's?
According to this Economist article that is precisely the sort of decision many of you will eventually have to make. With dwindling populations in the West and the need to prop up the ponzi planet of state funded pensions, Europe is allegedly looking at a retirement age of 70 by the year 2040, with America at a purported smidgen lower.
Because life expectancy continues to rise—people in rich countries are gaining a little under a month a year—even the American and British plans are inadequate. Working longer has three great advantages. The employee gets more years of wages; the government receives more in taxes and pays out less in benefits; and the economy grows faster as more people work for longer.
The preceding stanza is another great example of why economists may quickly become the least qualified people to discuss... economics. Good luck getting the general public to buy into such logic. Especially here in the U.S. where we have been birthing generation upon generation which looks at retirement benefits as a right and not a privilege. Add to that the oft ignored issues of Medicare fraud and state retirement benefits which cripple state budgets (and have already left some facing bankruptcy). The preceding notions are just two bugs in a molehill of problems which are quickly growing mountainous. Notice I haven't yet mentioned the $3 trillion gorilla in the room.
What precisely are we to do about our pension issues? Keeping in mind, this is far bigger than just social security. Americans have grown firmly accustomed to 65 being the cutoff age and most look to cash out early. How much motivation do you guys have to go into the working world if you are potentially looking at a half century in it?
I really do want to be an optimist, but I don't see a silver lining with regards to this situation. More and more pensioners are taking their retirement checks abroad with more and more young Americans looking to overseas employment. How do we deal with the fragile future of retirees in this country? Perhaps a more honest way to format the question is: how do we keep the house of cards from crumbling?
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Can't take anything you say seriously after looking at your user name..
I am not planning on waiting until 70 to retire. I really hope to retire at 60 (55 would be ideal, but unlikely). However, like Nobama I plan to fund this entirely on my own.
What people fail to realize when this is debated is that the government does NOT tell you when to retire, it only tells you when they will pay for your retirement. Anything I get from social security or my wife's pension will only be a bonus to my retirement.
I personally believe that the government shouldn't be giving any non-government employees $ to retire. (I disagree with public pensions, but understand its an exception to the previous statement). Government could be tremendously beneficial in reducing healthcare costs, which would go a long ways towards helping people retire. Outside of healthcare, the government shouldn't play a role in non-government employees retiring.
I HATE hearing people complain that social security won't/isn't enough to live off of. That's their faults for taking no responsibility from ages 25-65.
I'm absolutely in favor or raising the retirement age to 70. You can't let life expectancy growth outpace the retirement age too long before you run into problems. The sooner it happens the better too, since employers will take time to adjust having to hire 65-70 year olds. For my part, I hope to be out of the rat race long before then but there's no point in counting my chickens before they hatch.
The way I see it, if I'm still working by the age of 45 I'm a failure.
Unless it's completely on my own terms.
You wont allow yourself to retire, and you will never be in a position to do so "on your own terms." Your own drive will own you, driving you restless for the rest of your life.
True I would hate not doing anything but time's by far the most precious thing we have. I actually enjoy trading but there's way too many other things I'd like to do eventually - travel, hobbies, etc.
Raise it to 70, absolutely!! While we're at it, let's privatize SS.
why would you want to privatize the Schutzstaffel?
I have no idea, although indexing the retirement age to life expectancy seems like a reasonable proposition (might slow down growth in life expectancy actually).
Unlikely; the demographic with the largest turnout election after election is seniors. Much better off would be to curb benefits for federal and state employees, and I don't just mean going after the easy target that is education - I mean ALL of them. Extend the term to 30 years, end double dipping, end 401K contributions, slash the pensions, and make them contribute to benefits plans. This is doable, and aside from gov't workers, NO ONE is going to object.
If they have a problem with it, legalize the Mexicans and hire them. They'll do it for a FRACTION of the cost and LOVE US for it.
The proposal to up the retirement age would start with people who are not even in the work force yet. It would have not effect on seniors. It's a phase out thing.
I agree with the double dipping thing.
Needs to be 70, on average people live 4-5 years longer than when the age was originally set at 65. (Pretty sure)
Midas - this may be your best post.
Like the folks above, I plan on fully funding my own retirement without any help from the government. I wish I could opt out of paying into social security and just go at it my own, I know under the current system, I'll never see a dollar.
We absolutely have to raise the retirement age. What most do NOT realize is, when social security was put in to place, the age of 65 was ANCIENT. The life expectancy for a male in 1930 was 58. For a woman it was 62. Guess what, they paid out benefits at 65. Not a bad idea at all. My source on that? SSA.GOV
Life expectancy now a days? 75 for men and 80 for women. And the US is 36th in the world for life expectancy. Japan is first in the world. I wonder if it's any significance that the Japanese are more broke than we are.
As far as my retirement goes. I think I could work until 70. Not to sound cliche, but 70 for us is the new 60. In a few decades, 70 yr old people will be much more active than today's 70 yr olds. And you don't have to work your current job until you're 70, the key is to be doing something that you enjoy. It might be running your own lemonade stand.
When are they going to update this stuff? Or is the point to let it decay to the point where terminating the programs is offered as a realistic alternative?
Will you guys keep on maxing out your employment benefits and 401k/Roth IRAs?
raising the retirement age will not help the situation at all for the upcoming generation heading into retirement. Office peons or people working in non-intensive jobs, they might be able to work the extra years (doubtful based on the treatment of the average senior employee in junior level management/individual contributor during the past few years) but for all the blue-collar jobs out there, most people can't continue into their 60's. Though advances in medicine have extended life expectancy, it hasn't improved cognitive functions or improve physical ability.
I've thought about this a lot, actually, and I can say that I'm willing to work well into my 70's as long as I have something to contribute.
When I first made my hit in commodities, I retired. As in, straight-up retired fuck around and drink all day retired. I made it about six months before I went batshit insane. So destroyed was my mental state that I bought the first company that came along and it was a huge mistake. I did it just to have something to do.
Make no mistake - working sucks huge gorilla balls. I have no interest in punching a clock for a living. But if I can manage a personal portfolio and write for WSO until I'm 90, you're fuckin'-A right I'm gonna do it.
You reek of wisdom sir. Wise beyond your years..
Yeaah boii. Add a couple decades collecting Champions Leagues as owner of my favorite soccer team and that's my plan too.
Haha nice. I am restless on every vacation I have been on. Three days go by before mr. hyde takes over and I start frantically checking stuff
warren buffet is over 80 and still going strong
fuck that shit if old people get beneifits i want my benifits at there age, it is unfair for them to get it at 65 and me to get at 70 fuck no
Get off welfare you fucking democrat
kk they don't expect a border to mexico bc that is welfare also u hoe
fuck you redneck hillbilly!
As social security is set to go bankrupt before I'm 50, I plan on funding my own retirement. They should let SS and medicare/medicaid expire and replace it with a means tested program. Once you reach a certain age (whatever it is) you get a good portion of retirement covered. Just how it was originally meant to be. As far as retiring by 45, if am able to set myself up well then I'm going to start a hobby business and run it until I croak.
lol by 2040, there will be no such thing as retirement. People without higher education WILL work til the day they die....welcome to the failed ponzi scheme :)
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