For Many Seniors, There May Be No Retirement

[dkf]

Many older people are finding themselves in a position they never expected to be in at retirement age: still working or in need of a job.

And the laundry list of reasons just keeps growing. Already battered nest eggs took another beating this month with the market's wild swings. With interest rates essentially at zero since 2008, income from Treasurys and certificates of deposit is pretty paltry. And the Federal Reserve recently said it would likely keep rates "exceptionally low" through mid-2013. On top of that, housing prices are still in the doldrums, leaving homeowners with much less equity to tap.

More than three in five U.S. workers in their 50s and 60s plan on working past 65 — and 47% of that group say they'll do so because they'll need the money or health benefits, according to a 2011 study from the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.

But in this tight labor market, working into your golden years isn't easy. And you'll have to make your age and years on the job come across as assets, not liabilities. In addition, with the current market upheaval, you'll need a financial plan that puts your savings on the fast track and takes into account how Social Security and Medicare benefits could be affected.

http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/113381/many-seniors-keep-working-wsj;_ylt=AvaO472s7FnMlPhlTrZGxSS7YWsA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1NnRnc3Q2BHBvcwMzBHNlYwNmaWRlbGl0eUZQBHNsawNmb3JtYW55c2VuaW8-?mod=fidelity-changingjobs&cat=fidelity_2010_changing_jobs

[cutlassmama]

1. We're supposed to be working for the man until the day we drop dead,

that way they can get richer and we can stay poor. There will be no middle class or retirees in the years to come.

[Earth_First]

2. How about those of us in our 30's who work paycheck to paycheck with no medical insurance, no 401(k)

Just a little foreshadowing for you.

It's not just TODAY'S seniors...

[Pholus]

3. Thank GOD for social security or things would be far worse. Course we seem to want that gone.

This is ALL about getting cheap labor and money invested in a market where it can be legally stolen.

Too bad FDR messed with the plan, but it seems we're going to get right back on track soon enough.

[closeupready]

5. That's exactly right. Wall Street seeks to 'fee' our social security savings to death.

nt

[elocs]

4. I have the advantage of being poor for years & knowing how to live poor.

I intend to retire at 62 and my meager SS along with a small Teamsters pension I will get at 65 will be more income than I have now. I may work part time if I choose, but not out of need.

[madrchsod]

6. it makes no sense to deprive a kid of a job because....

this country does`t give a shit about the people who built it.

someone can take that shared shit and......

[Marrah_G]

7. I'll be working until I am dead

I'm 41 with no retirement pension or savings. I just started a second part time job that offers a 401k so I'll probably try to put away a little but it won't be nearly enough. Best I can hope for is to save enough to buy a little piece of land to grow food on that has very low taxes. I did have a better plan but things sadly fell through.

[RebelOne]

15. I thought I would be working until I was dead,

but I was laid off my job in 2010. I was already 70 by that time, so I decided to retire. Thank goodness for social security and the small amount of money I had in my 401K and IRA. I should be alright for a few years before I have to eat cat food.

[progressoid]

16. Me too.

I'm 48 and my savings was wiped out a long time ago. I figure I'll work till I die (assuming there are jobs).

[Bigmack]

8. A 65 year old teacher...? Wow!.....

A 65 tear old bricklayer or carpenter...? Are you shitting me?

People who never worked for a living have no idea how tired people get after years of working.

The jobs are needed by the young.

[DrDan]

9. and by many seniors

[Worried senior]

10. I'd like to find a part time job

but being over 65 I can't do the bull work anymore and around here there isn't much to chose from. For us these aren't the golden years, we had dreams at one time too but those are gone.

[DrDan]

11. my wife and I were discuss that this morning - over 50? Good luck finding a job.

I have heard cases where job applications now REQUIRE dates for college degrees. For what purpose if not to estimate age.

[Coyote_Bandit]

13. The jobs are needed by the young?

Sure they are. But they are not the only ones who need jobs.

Anyone who needs a job - regardless of age - and who is willing and able to work should be able to do so.

The issue isn't whether to give preference to one group or another in the labor market but how to increase the supply of jobs available.

Giving preference to one group over another in employment is a form of bigotry and discrimination. When that preference is based on age it is known as age discrimination.

FWIW, my first grade teacher was nearly 70 years old. She was an excellent teacher and I remember her fondly. She taught me basic academic skills, encouraged me to ask questions and is responsible for my love of reading.

My grandparents worked well into their 70s and 80s because they wanted to. They found pleasure, strength and meaning in their work. But don't worry, they didn't take a job away from somebody younger. They farmed and ranched and worked the land working for themselves. Hard, dirty, dangerous work.

I'd suggest that part of what is wrong with our labor market is that people are unwilling to assume the risks and responsibilities of self-employment - and because the odds of doing so are largely stacked against those who do.

[Bigmack]

17. I knew I'd get one of these...!

How many 70 year old teachers do you know? How many 70 year old teachers have what it takes for a High School classroom... 33 kids 5 times a day? How many 70 year old teachers do you know who could handle a (shudder) Middle School classroom?

Your grandparents worked into their 70's and 80's... good for them. My paternal grandparents killed themselves with work in the big timber before their 70's. My maternal grandparents had a stump farm and worked until they died. My point is, not everybody finds pleasure, strength, and meaning in their work after 60.

When I say the jobs need to go to younger people, I mean the ones with families to support and careers to build... and those jobs just ain't happenin'.

I propose a society where old people can work if they can and want to, and where young people have a future.

Not such a radical concept.... except in the Global Trade world the US has joined.

[Coyote_Bandit]

18. Ummmm......

My own first grade teacher was well past retirement age.

But then this really isn't about age is it?

You wrote:
"When I say the jobs need to go to younger people, I mean the ones with families to support and careers to build... and those jobs just ain't happenin'......I propose a society where old people can work if they can and want to, and where young people have a future."

Guess what?

Old people have a future too. Their life isn't over. They too look forward to the opportunity to do different things, to travel, to make various purchases. Stripping them of income and the opportunity to earn denies them some of the basic pleasures of life - if not its bare necessities.

If an older person finds pleasure, strength, and meaning in their work - or if they find it necessary to earn an income to provide necessities or secure a higher standard of living they ought not be made to feel guilty for doing so. They are not stealing from someone else by taking advantage of the opportunities available to them.

Old people ought not be obligated to make sacrifices to advance the desires of younger generations.

Some old people are pretty damn fit and healthy and quite capable of filling demanding physical responsibilities. I used to know an 80 year old man who worked long days in the heat every summer picking strawberries - and he did it just because he wanted to.

Folks who have kids and families are not entitled to a superior standard of living just because they have children. Nor are their lives somehow inherently more valuable because they procreated - regardless of their sense of self-importance.

Millions of undocumented illegal immigrants have come to this country to make a better life for themselves and have prospered without the ability to be legally employed.

It's not that opportunity doesn't exist. The thing about opportunity is that one has to seek it out. One has to be flexible and willing to embrace the opportunity rather than demand a predefined scenario to follow a traditional career path. One has to be willing to work - sometimes doing dirty, dangerous or undesirable tasks. It is certainly an advantage to have technical, trade or manufacturing skills. And one needs to be willing to make their own way. It is entirely possible to earn a damned good income without being employed. But it's a whole hell of a lot easier and safer to work for someone else.

If we had an economy based on real productivity there would be ample opportunity for all. But we don't. We have an economy based on consumer spending. We value wealth creation over productivity. We want to send out kids to Ivy League schools so they can get white collar jobs. Some of us even teach out kids that blue collar work - or self-employment - is beneath them. We need to change our attitudes - and the politicians need to put policies in place to transition our economy back to one based on real productivity.

[Javaman]

12. Really? no shit. I'm on the "installment" program...

I installed a coffin under my desk.

[Coyote_Bandit]

14. 50ish and long-term unemployed here

When my parents are gone I hope to buy my way out of this country. I'll take my pennies somewhere else and start a small little business. I wouldn't even consider doing that here in the US.