Skip to main content

Have You Prepared Well Enough?

This is a hot-button issue. All of the literature regarding saving for retirement suggests that there soon may be a glut of aging bums on the streets.

But, is that a realistic outcome?

 Statistics suggest "Yes".

First, I have to point out that retirees are divided into two major groups:

  • Those with pension plans that will provide a specific amount of money each month (called Defined Benefit plans). Those with these plans include:
    • Police, Firemen, and other government workers
    • Teachers and full-time workers in schools
    • Military - it may not be a BIG benefit, but it is a stable one
    • SOME workers in larger corporations
  • Those with pension plans that do not guarantee a certain benefit (called Defined Contribution plans). Most people have these.
    • These include 401(k)s and other tax-free contribution plans
    • Many employers will match or even double the contributions made by their workers. Too many people don't even make minimal contributions in their early years, if at all.
    • If people leave their job, too often, they cash out the plans (well, to be fair, many of them desperately need the money to pay their bills)
The stories that talk about the HUGE amounts of money you will need to retire are primarily talking about the second type of plan. Even with that pile of money, you can be at risk of losing everything if a health crisis hits.
The Defined Benefit plan is less vulnerable to being lost in a financial crunch. It's not, generally, a large income, but it is steady. And, it cannot be touched by bankruptcy, nursing homes (if you are a spouse), or other things that threaten Defined Contribution plans. If you are divorced by someone with a Defined Benefit plan, you can't even lose your spousal share against your will (you CAN negotiate it away, but you can't be forced to give it up).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One Reason to Write

This post sparked mine today. I've been writing (slowly, one anecdote at a time) my memories of my youth, and the stories that I remember being passed down from parents, grandparents, and other long-lived people. I was fortunate - in my mother's family, old age was the default - my grandparents were born in the 19th century, and passed on stories of their youth. My father's family was equally long-lived, but not as talkative (WV vs. Irish-descent). Still, I have an aunt by marriage whose passion is genealogy, and who had compiled a bookshelf of clippings, copies of newspaper stories, and charts of the family, back to pre-Colonial times. If you aren't on Ancestry.com (and, I don't blame you - the price has risen shockingly!), you might want to use a word processing program or app - Google Docs is easy to use, and can be shared with others easily - to write down your memories - personal, or what has been told to you. If you'd rather, set up a videocam, and
2 comments
Read more

Untangling the Mess That is Roadside Service

We're heading out next week to a Physics conference, and, as we are traveling via car, my husband asked me to check out Roadside Assistance. Specifically, did we still have it, or could we get it, on our cell phone plan? The short answer is no. It was discontinued in 2012. The long answer: Sprint - they don't have it AARP - I keep getting information about the WONDERFUL, heavily DISCOUNTED perks you can get for membership in AARP. I never really did join, but they keep sending their magazine each month, along with a card that says I'm a member. Most places accept it for discounts without actually checking to see if I AM a member. I checked their website. They do have a Roadside Assistance plan listed. I click on the link, which pops up a box warning me that YOU ARE LEAVING AARP FOR ANOTHER SITE! I click OK and end up on the site - Allstate. Yes, I think it is somehow affiliated with the insurance company. I check out the rates. Not that cheap, unless you are a
Post a Comment
Read more

First Days of Retirement

AWESOME! Just AWESOME - that's all I have to say about it. I made MAJOR progress on cleaning up the house - bathroom - Check! Living Room - In Process. Desk Cleared - Check! Office - In Process. My goals this month are clearing out paperwork backlog, and general cleaning and organization. So far, so good.
1 comment
Read more