I would love to consider retirement, but it turns out that our currency is worthless if it can't buy the things we need and want
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More Americans are considering retirement
31–40 of 101 posts
Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#32This sounds absolutely wonderful to me. At this point we have 2 generations straining for opportunities and advancement while the wealthiest and luckiest generation in the history of the country sits at the top of the ladder. Time for them to go enjoy their good fortune in Florida and let the rest of us crack into that turf they've been hoarding.
Not really. Most boomers and are not rich at all. Go to your local food store and you will probably find plenty of older employees...it's not just 20-somethings who are stuck in crappy professions or in a rut. Many boomers did not save for retirement and face the same problems young people do. Also there are plenty of 20 and 30-year-olds on Reddit (such as on investing and FIRE subs) and hacker news who have sizable…
In terms of raw wages, it seems like overall the millenial generation does have either lower wages or higher debt than the boomer generation. Page 16 (table 2) compares wages from 1979 to 2019: the wages have gone up for college grads but have gone down for non-college grads. [0] Do note, of course, that to get those college wages, most students needed to go deeply in debt.
In terms of the larger economic environment, the boomers were generally born and raised during the Golden Age of Capitalism [1], but they likely entered the workforce around the time of the early '70s recession. However, the '80s and '90s appear to have been good times to have a job, but as each year went by, it became less and less good to have non-college jobs as the stats above show us. For millenials, the non-college jobs have been objectively worse in terms of pay, and the job opportunities that did exist were hampered by the .com bust (more a Gen Xer hindrance), the '08 bust, and of course, the covid shit show.
[0] Wages: https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R45090.pdf [1] Golden Age: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%80%93World_War_II_econ...
Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
The idea that the FAANG gravy train can last 30 years is not realistic. If at least half the letters in FAANG aren't blown away in that time period, it would suggest a tech environment so stagnant that it would be impossible to justify the compensation. And lasting 30 years at a surviving FAANG company is such a low-probability prospect that it's not something reasonable to include in any future planning. Very few FA…
OK, so what is your estimate of net worth for a software engineer retiring today after 30 years in the industry?
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Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#34I wish articles like this provided some data as to what "affluent" is. How much money does the 48 year old have, and how much "house", that retirement looks to make sense to them? I'd rather have the dollar figures than the people's names.
Here's what a FAANG software engineer can expect to have at retirement: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ryu_-mVYxSdJbW8lmf1z...
https://mobilemonkey.com/articles/employee-tenure-in-tech-co...
Here’s How Long Employees Are Staying AT The 10 Biggest Companies in Tech:
Facebook – 2.02 Years
Google – 1.90 Years
Oracle – 1.89 Years
Apple – 1.85 Years
Amazon – 1.84 Years
Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There are plenty of opportunities for young people to get rich. Can confirm. I was directionless in life until I read a comment on a message board about working from home on Google with the potential to earn $5,000/week. I made my first million in a year and a half by investing the earnings from that into meme stocks, pink sheets stocks and SPACs I found on Reddit while living at home with my parents.
Wow. Wagies must HATE you! Where can I click to learn your ONE WEIRD TRICK to early retirement?
Just click the ad! You won't regret it!
Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
This take only makes sense if you assume the next 40 years will be similar to the last 40.
They probably will be, what will be (truly, materially) different?
Anything and everything? 50 years people thought we’d have flying cars and unions. Who would have imagined all the automation? It is a world of work that was inconceivable to most people then.
Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not really. Most boomers and are not rich at all. Go to your local food store and you will probably find plenty of older employees...it's not just 20-somethings who are stuck in crappy professions or in a rut. Many boomers did not save for retirement and face the same problems young people do. Also there are plenty of 20 and 30-year-olds on Reddit (such as on investing and FIRE subs) and hacker news who have sizable…
> There are plenty of opportunities for young people to get rich. Can confirm. I was directionless in life until I read a comment on a message board about working from home on Google with the potential to earn $5,000/week. I made my first million in a year and a half by investing the earnings from that into meme stocks, pink sheets stocks and SPACs I found on Reddit while living at home with my parents.
Poe's Law strikes again. This comment is like a Necker Cube. I can read it straight, or as a joke, and it sounds right either way.
Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Here's what a FAANG software engineer can expect to have at retirement: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ryu_-mVYxSdJbW8lmf1z...
The idea that the FAANG gravy train can last 30 years is not realistic. If at least half the letters in FAANG aren't blown away in that time period, it would suggest a tech environment so stagnant that it would be impossible to justify the compensation. And lasting 30 years at a surviving FAANG company is such a low-probability prospect that it's not something reasonable to include in any future planning. Very few FA…
every FAANG is almost 20 or over 20 years old. Certainly engineers that have spent those last 20 years (if they haven't already) will retire probably over the figure in the spreadsheet. Will the particular FAANG companies last another 20 (or 30) years? Who's to say but I don't see whatever replaces them not being glad to hire former FAANG engineers. So yeah it's kind of a gravy train that you needn't disembark if you don't want to.
Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
This take only makes sense if you assume the next 40 years will be similar to the last 40.
They probably will be, what will be (truly, materially) different?
A big part of older folks wealth is based on gains from housing. Do you think that will continue at the same pace and leave us with an inflation-adjusted doubling or tripling of home prices?
Do you think migration trends into cities will continue unabated?
Do you think US population growth which drives much of the housing market will continue?
Re: More Americans are considering retirement
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not really. Most boomers and are not rich at all. Go to your local food store and you will probably find plenty of older employees...it's not just 20-somethings who are stuck in crappy professions or in a rut. Many boomers did not save for retirement and face the same problems young people do. Also there are plenty of 20 and 30-year-olds on Reddit (such as on investing and FIRE subs) and hacker news who have sizable…
Your anecdotes are absolutely not backed up by the data: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-depressing-chart-show...
Wow, that chart is quite an eye-opener. I happen to be a boomer...