Yesterday, I read about a woman, an empty nest in the
Midwest, which made the mistake of investing in an exclusive
four-bedroom house that now has negative equity;
which means you owe more than it is worth.
Unlike many Californians, who are backwards
hundred thousand, half a million or more, this
The distressed lady regrets her extravagance because
you will have to sell at a cash loss of $5,000.
I read this, and although my sympathy is with everyone
people who predicted their purchases based on a perception
real estate prices only go up, I thought, “Hell, she’s
sweating only five thousand dollars?”
But $5,000 is an important part of your retirement.
money.
How can it be?
Like my recently retired employer in the
financial industry, which received twelve million
payment in dollars, not everyone has
Six and seven figure cushions to fall back on
when your other investments fail?
In a word: no.
And Social Security, that system that so many predict
will fail one day, won’t that agency make up for the
deficit?
When you reach AARP age 50 or older, the Social
The Security Administration sends you annual forms
recap your accumulated contributions to the fund.
Based on these numbers, the notice tells you how
little you’ll get if you retire at age 62 or later.
It is shocking
A baby boomer, who started paying into Social Security
when he was in his teens, and contributing
every year since then, he could retire at age 62 and get the
grand sum of $986 per month. That might be enough to
pay your utilities and insurance.
How is the rest of the nut going to break?
The simple answer is working until you drop.
Investment firms spend millions to advertise the
concept that we should save a lot for retirement,
starting early, and even if we’re late to the game,
we can catch up and still accumulate a nest of eggs in
weather.
Simple math suggests this is partially true.
“Save early” is good advice, but catching up so you can
you can have a life of leisure on the golf course or
padding just doesn’t seem feasible.
The other day I received a statement of power of attorney from the Auto
Club that wants to increase mandatory retirement
age of its Board of Directors to 73 or 76. My
initial reaction was to dismiss this appeal for me
support for.
I am reconsidering, appreciating the fact that these
older people may need the additional income.
In much of the New Age wildly optimistic, goofy,
literature, you still see the once funny saying that
On your death bed, the last words you will speak are NOT
be:
“I wish I had spent more time in the office!”
Tell that to the bereaved Midwestern landlord.
mentioned above, and millions of your
contemporaries, who are faced with the prospect of
fighting to stay or to get back in
Workplace.
Somehow I’m feeling that I won’t stay employed for a long time
enough is precisely what many will lament.