Under-rated problem. The decline is real, and towards the end of their life many people end up handing a power of attorney to their children or other close relative in order to run their lives. While in the meantime there are so many more internet-enabled scams.
Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
11–20 of 108 posts
Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#12i strongly oppose the American approach to pensions, which is regrettably spreading worldwide. relying on private savings to finance retirement is highly risky, and this is the crux of the article in question. pension systems should be administered through public programs, not turned into moralistic contests in which individuals are penalized if their investments fail for any reason (and it's only their fault... whil…
Public pension schemes always end up being turned into Ponzi schemes for short term political gain, especially as birthrates keep dropping. US social security and Medicare are a great example of this but you'll find similar examples throughout the western world. In contrast private retirement plans put the individual in charge of their own retirement (why should the government be telling you when to retire?) and does…
> financial burden on unborn generations.
The money always has to come from the labour of the future somehow. So you get the same burden laundered through the private sector, such as young people having to pay extortionate rents to retired landlords.
Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#13i strongly oppose the American approach to pensions, which is regrettably spreading worldwide. relying on private savings to finance retirement is highly risky, and this is the crux of the article in question. pension systems should be administered through public programs, not turned into moralistic contests in which individuals are penalized if their investments fail for any reason (and it's only their fault... whil…
Public pension schemes always end up being turned into Ponzi schemes for short term political gain, especially as birthrates keep dropping. US social security and Medicare are a great example of this but you'll find similar examples throughout the western world. In contrast private retirement plans put the individual in charge of their own retirement (why should the government be telling you when to retire?) and does…
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Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#14i strongly oppose the American approach to pensions, which is regrettably spreading worldwide. relying on private savings to finance retirement is highly risky, and this is the crux of the article in question. pension systems should be administered through public programs, not turned into moralistic contests in which individuals are penalized if their investments fail for any reason (and it's only their fault... whil…
I agree, but the German one is also pretty dodgy: Basically pay the rents of the old generation from a share of the working one. It's already coming apart due to demographic change and the next few years will be disastrous. If there's an approach to model imho it's the Norwegian one: Actually backed by stocks, but managed and distributed by a central investment fund. It's far easier if the country is smart enough to…
Failure in most of these systems were that original contributions were never sufficiently high to actually cover the future outgoings. Whatever those boomers that think they paid say...
Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#15i strongly oppose the American approach to pensions, which is regrettably spreading worldwide. relying on private savings to finance retirement is highly risky, and this is the crux of the article in question. pension systems should be administered through public programs, not turned into moralistic contests in which individuals are penalized if their investments fail for any reason (and it's only their fault... whil…
European pensions are predominantly unfunded, and promises typically amount to 3.5 times GDP. The prevailing view among those who have looked at this is that nobody under the age of 40 will get anything close to what is promised. The only exception is Netherlands, and maybe Sweden. Leaving private pensions the only option.
Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree, but the German one is also pretty dodgy: Basically pay the rents of the old generation from a share of the working one. It's already coming apart due to demographic change and the next few years will be disastrous. If there's an approach to model imho it's the Norwegian one: Actually backed by stocks, but managed and distributed by a central investment fund. It's far easier if the country is smart enough to…
Failure in most of these systems were that original contributions were never sufficiently high to actually cover the future outgoings. Whatever those boomers that think they paid say...
More fundamentally the ratio of workers to retirees has shifted. No matter how you fund pensions this will create challenges.
Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#17i strongly oppose the American approach to pensions, which is regrettably spreading worldwide. relying on private savings to finance retirement is highly risky, and this is the crux of the article in question. pension systems should be administered through public programs, not turned into moralistic contests in which individuals are penalized if their investments fail for any reason (and it's only their fault... whil…
I agree, but the German one is also pretty dodgy: Basically pay the rents of the old generation from a share of the working one. It's already coming apart due to demographic change and the next few years will be disastrous. If there's an approach to model imho it's the Norwegian one: Actually backed by stocks, but managed and distributed by a central investment fund. It's far easier if the country is smart enough to…
> If there's an approach to model imho it's the Norwegian one
You just need to have a tiny population and be the 3rd biggest gas and 5th biggest oil exporter, easy peasy
Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#18i strongly oppose the American approach to pensions, which is regrettably spreading worldwide. relying on private savings to finance retirement is highly risky, and this is the crux of the article in question. pension systems should be administered through public programs, not turned into moralistic contests in which individuals are penalized if their investments fail for any reason (and it's only their fault... whil…
Public pension schemes always end up being turned into Ponzi schemes for short term political gain, especially as birthrates keep dropping. US social security and Medicare are a great example of this but you'll find similar examples throughout the western world. In contrast private retirement plans put the individual in charge of their own retirement (why should the government be telling you when to retire?) and does…
this comment can be summarized like this: https://i.redd.it/jbab7jrhvt211.gif
after three major financial crises in the past 20 years, it’s hard to call private finance “safe” from ponzi-like risks. more than a quarter of Americans have no retirement savings at all, and the 401(k) balance for near-retirees often falls well below $100,000.
but it's the logic of the argument that is faulty: declining birthrates also hurt private markets, which rely on a growing workforce just as public pensions do. do you think finance is somewhat magical? if there is no growth also the financial markets won't grow. pensions shouldn't be about growth, but they are mainly about redistribution.
if we dismiss public pensions as a ponzi scheme, then by the same logic, private plans—completely at the mercy of market swings—could be called ponzi too, except they often leave those who earn less with nowhere to turn when things collapse.
Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#19i strongly oppose the American approach to pensions, which is regrettably spreading worldwide. relying on private savings to finance retirement is highly risky, and this is the crux of the article in question. pension systems should be administered through public programs, not turned into moralistic contests in which individuals are penalized if their investments fail for any reason (and it's only their fault... whil…
European pensions are predominantly unfunded, and promises typically amount to 3.5 times GDP. The prevailing view among those who have looked at this is that nobody under the age of 40 will get anything close to what is promised. The only exception is Netherlands, and maybe Sweden. Leaving private pensions the only option.
Basic demographic analysis will point out that in a world with a declining and aging population, private investments are probably not going to be doing so hot, either.
Wealth creation requires work. Retirees don't work, but still require a portion of the wealth that workers create to live.
It doesn't matter if it's a government pension or a 401K investment, a declining worker population will mean that you'll have the exact same retirement problem. Government pension require people working and being productive and paying taxes. Your investments will only produce returns if people are working and being productive (in which case they are also probably paying taxes).
Unless, you know, you do some wealth redistribution, away from people who own all the means of production, to the people who don't. Then they former will be the ones with a problem. It won't generate more net wealth, but it would certainly prevent a large portion of it from being locked up in the hands of a small elite.
Or, alternatively, more automation and high taxes on robots.
Privatizing the problem of pensions is just an accounting trick. It doesn't actually solve the problem.
Re: Undiagnosed Cognitive Decline Eats into Seniors' Retirement Savings
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Public pension schemes always end up being turned into Ponzi schemes for short term political gain, especially as birthrates keep dropping. US social security and Medicare are a great example of this but you'll find similar examples throughout the western world. In contrast private retirement plans put the individual in charge of their own retirement (why should the government be telling you when to retire?) and does…
> financial burden on unborn generations. The money always has to come from the labour of the future somehow. So you get the same burden laundered through the private sector, such as young people having to pay extortionate rents to retired landlords.
Why must the money come from future labor? Money can be saved and invested. Let them eat their capital and not their young.