Is this really surprising?
Ganked from Money Turtle.
Click through to the Marketwatch article. Essentially it tells us Gen-Xers that we’re screwed for retirement. I find that hardly surprising.
I do find the statistics illuminating. I am at 40% risk of falling short for retirement saving in the middle earner category. I can tell you that I am already behind. I just hope to catch up, or at least not fall too far behind. I wonder how I rate against my peers. Per NetWorthHQ, I am very behind, but really someplace in the middle of my peer group. I’d say within the bulge of the bell curve.
The assumptions behind the study are very conservative. That’s about the only good news here. They assume that you retire at 65 and do not work past that mark. I know from my current experience, that lots of people plan on working till they die. They don’t necessarily foresee being debilitated to the point of unemployment. So please consider that though you may plan to retire at 70, your body might not give you a choice and retire you at 63. Just think about that for a moment. That’s 7 years of lost income and growth before you start tapping into your savings.
My family is lucky in that they can still live off the business they have as long as one of my parents is able to maintain it. But what if you weren’t a entrepreneur or in a stable partnership? Where would your passive income come from then?
I don’t have any answers here for you. I just like putting these mental ticklers out there. Everyone is going to have a different answer. I am finding some of my greatest creativity is coming out of being desperate for a solution for all. We’re doing fine, but it’s kind of tiring right now trying to juggle things and plan solutions that accommodate everyone’s needs and wishes. Again, I urge everyone to start conversations about parental retirement now before your parents cannot express their wishes and needs clearly.
Kira wrote:
Well, I think they aren’t giving enough credit to the fact that the Gen-Xers have more time than anyone else to save. Early boomers are pretty much stuck where they are since they are almost out of time. And it seems like historically people often don’t get the idea in their heads to actually start saving for retirement until their 30s or 40s - so now is just about the right time for Gen-Xers to start freaking out (and hopefully saving!)
Posted on 16-Jun-06 at 9:00 am | Permalink