Here's a fun game for everyone. If you don't save, and your company doesn't save, and your government doesn't save then how the hell do you figure you're going to retire?
Stock up on bullets and get comfortable firing them.
A preview of the U.S. without pensions
41–50 of 221 posts
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#42Here's a fun game for everyone. If you don't save, and your company doesn't save, and your government doesn't save then how the hell do you figure you're going to retire?
the current plan around the world seems to be that the next generation props you up I guess?
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#43This is horrible. A few years ago I realized my parents were way behind on savings and just incessantly nagged them until they got on a good plan. They kicked and screamed the whole time ("You're our son. You can't tell us what to do."), but it's turned out to be one of the best decision I ever made. Next year they are actually going to retire. I dunno what I'd do if they had to work at Wal-Mart just to make ends mee…
Would be nice if the birth year were adjustable.
If you're willing to risk jail time, it can be. :- )
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#44Here's a fun game for everyone. If you don't save, and your company doesn't save, and your government doesn't save then how the hell do you figure you're going to retire?
It seems like in this monetary environment solutions are thus:
Individuals can get lines of credit issued against their homes or reverse mortgages. Also there's a plethora of subprime debt individuals can acquire and default on ranging from autos to ones education.
Companies can keep issuing bonds so that on some end of the food chain, central banks can keep purchasing them.
Governments can keep issuing bonds, even at negative interest rates, central banks can keep purchasing them.
If it isn't clear, this can go on forever and will always end well.
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#45Defined benefit plans, i.e. pensions, are a total disaster. They are premised on a fantasy: that the pension fund will make enough money on the market to to pay its liabilities, or that the backing entity will bail it out if not. Those are bad assumptions. The result is pension funds going broke across the country, and it's just getting started. Defined contribution plans, 401k's and such, are much more sensible. You…
I'm not sure 401ks are so great. Many charge ridiculous management fees for funds that track mundane things like the S&P 500, but if you want that employer match, no way around it. Mostly a case of perfectly intelligent people throwing wads of money into the market on autopilot because that's all the 401k lets you do. Lambs to the slaughter! edit: Example: Back when I was on 401k, was into a S&P500 fund that had an e…
When was this / which vendor was this? My barebones Fidelity 401k plan which only gave me 12 funds to choose from had a S&P500 fund with an expense ratio of ~0.2% iirc. (I don't remember what sort of fees there were in the overall 401k account though)
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
My parents finally have health insurance after ACA, so yeah, they ARE better off.
I recently worked in two restaurants. Everyone was part time because no one wanted to employ full time. No one had insurance. On of my coworkers ended up in the hospital. She was taken on then dropped by 4 insurance companies, this was directly after she lost her military coverage. She's 15k in debt working a job that pays $200/week. I can toss a lot more stories back at you if you want.
Why didn’t your coworker enroll in a ACA program?
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#47Defined benefit plans, i.e. pensions, are a total disaster. They are premised on a fantasy: that the pension fund will make enough money on the market to to pay its liabilities, or that the backing entity will bail it out if not. Those are bad assumptions. The result is pension funds going broke across the country, and it's just getting started. Defined contribution plans, 401k's and such, are much more sensible. You…
I'm not sure 401ks are so great. Many charge ridiculous management fees for funds that track mundane things like the S&P 500, but if you want that employer match, no way around it. Mostly a case of perfectly intelligent people throwing wads of money into the market on autopilot because that's all the 401k lets you do. Lambs to the slaughter! edit: Example: Back when I was on 401k, was into a S&P500 fund that had an e…
It sounds like you had a crappy 401k. The one we had when my work offered one had a large number of funds available, with expense ratios close to Vanguard's. Ours was through Fidelity.
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#48The fundamental problem with pensions, however you arrange them, is that no one has a crystal ball. If you were FDR, how could you possibly know that average person will live 10 years longer, or that we're going to end up with birth control and a consequent demographic cliff?
> how could you possibly know that average person will live 10 years longer
This is not really what happened though, people who made it to working age generally did not live that much longer.
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah the only time it makes sense to have a 401k is if your company matches your contributions.
Don't they all have a match? It would be nice if people could keep the match and have more control over their portfolios. Buy & sell stocks, bonds, commodities, etc. whenever instead of a very small basket of mutual funds that can only be juggled a few times a year.
yes the limitation of 401k plan fund choices seems very arbitrary to me. Perhaps a result of lobbying, or a remnant of the past when such limitations were a good call?
Re: A preview of the U.S. without pensions
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
I recently worked in two restaurants. Everyone was part time because no one wanted to employ full time. No one had insurance. On of my coworkers ended up in the hospital. She was taken on then dropped by 4 insurance companies, this was directly after she lost her military coverage. She's 15k in debt working a job that pays $200/week. I can toss a lot more stories back at you if you want.
Why didn’t your coworker enroll in a ACA program?
She was covered under military, then she was enrolled in ACA, then dropped multiple times.