Half of old Americans have no money saved

Nearly half of all people of over 55 - or one out of seven Americans - have no money saved and risk heading into poverty, or dire circumstances, that would make their lives desperate for decades to come.

This is truly an enormous problem yet very little is being done to address it, and it has not gotten very much attention.

Many of these older Americans in, or near, poverty, are likely to live another 20, 30, or even 40 years, but will have few prospects to earn meaningful income or the skills suited to the future economy. Sadly, they will become less, not more, able to function in the economic marketplace as they age.

Our goals of the Senior Poverty Prevention Project are to raise awareness of this issue, forge partnerships with key leaders in business, media, government and academia and begin to create programs to solve the problem.

I became aware of this problem because I had been in this population, even before I reached its "official" age. Though I had a good education and a pretty good career, I went through a difficult multiyear, multi-state child custody battle (which I "won"), receiving sole custody of my then very young children. This completely drained my finances and derailed my career -- a trade-off I was happy to make.

The millions over 55 without money or reasonable prospects to earn it are being ignored and overlooked, in large part I fear, because in a society driven by youth, older people don’t seem to matter all that much.
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Successful, educated, but now destitute—why the problem of senior poverty in America should scare you (msn.com)

 

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Thank God I was raised by thrifty parents and have liked listening to the Dave Ramsey radio show for decades.

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I wonder what will be the fate of many of our more progressive-liberal members - those who do not have cushy government jobs that give them free lifelong benefits and pensions.


They don't seem to think the government should save any money, so one would have to assume they probably implement a similar practice in their own personal lives.

 

That's because the vast majority of older Americans are White... so they don't count.

Back in 2013 when asked about racism... Oprah Winfrey said something to the effect that old people raised on racism have to die.

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Very many people find themselves in a similar position to you, and like you for reasons beyond their control. With an ever shrinking job market the prospect of working for longer to make up the shortfall is getting more difficult, so I see no easy answer.

 

Most young liberals I know are not fiscally disciplined. In spite of earning a high salary, they still spend more money than they make and are overwhelmed by debt.

I was blessed to work for a corporation that had both a company funded pension and 401k [that the company matched up to 6%.] I took advantage of both. But an older coworker refused to invest in the 401k... then she quit before she was vested in the pension. She had very little savings and had to file for backruptcy in her old age.

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do you really think this is a liberal/right divide?
I'd say its more a generational thing. Certainly here in the UK my parents generation saved and saved, my generation will inherent most of what they saved and never spent.

 

There is really not much we can do address the problem. With the rise of single parent homes/never married households, people are covering bigger expenses and do not get spousal benefits off social security when the other one dies. We can't force them to marry. We can't force people to save (not that they should at that oh so impressive 0.03% apr banks rain down on depositors). Even if we force employers to set up IRA's or 401K's, there is nothing we can do to stop those people from cashing out early without totally upending the system as it now exists.

All we can do is what we are already doing---having government benefits programs that take the sharp edges off poverty for those that fall into the cracks as either a matter of choice or necessity.

 

When I posted "most young liberals"... I meant it in the context that most young people today are liberal.

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Ah understood.

 

Because my only child died young... I tried to pick the "best" of my siblings' litters to leave my estate. But even the "best" is too liberal for me. I do plan to give much of it to my favorite charity. Maybe I will just blow the rest of it on myself

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and yet the right wants to raise the age of social security retirement, it should be lowered, not raised

that would give more jobs for the young

 

in my parents\grand parents day, things lasted a lifetime, you did not have to rebuy major appliances over and over and over

and of course rent was lower compared to wages back then

inflation has outpaced wages as the min wage has not kept up

 

Things today are more expensive, more hi-tech but don't last a fraction as long and soon need to be replaced. How is that better for the environment ?!

I am still using the same decades old wall phone that was used by the little old lady who owned the house before me. It is much cheaper, much easier and quicker to make and receive calls via that "antique" phone than my mobile phone [and I don't have to recharge it.]

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Appliances also costed considerably more as well.
This is a tricky conversation for me as I'm in the UK. Over hear the biggest drain on wages is rent, with a population too big for the country house shortages have lead to obscene prices.

 

not really, and the problem today is costing more doesn't mean longer lasting

over population is a problem, though not sure how to address that one - I think nature will sort that one out for us

 

when I was starting out, my great grandma passed away and I got her washer and dryer, they lasted me about 20 years, she had them for about 20 years before that, very basic machines, just worked, after I replaced them, I wished I had just got the old ones repaired, have replaced them 3 times since then

 

No, I meant they were more expensive back then.

 

Please give us some examples.

How much monthly rent would an average one room apartment cost in a UK city ?

How much would buying an average three bedroom house cost in a UK city ?

Because most of my American forefathers came from the British Isles in the 17th/18th century... it's especially sad for me to see Britain being destroyed [racially, religiously, culturally] like all other [former] White Christian nations.

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A one bed apartment in Cambridge (Where I live) will cost you about $1250 a month.
Average 3 bed home circa $700,000

(I am not a racist, I merely speak of over population, I do not object to who makes up those numbers.)

 

But it cost your great grandma 3 months wages.

 

The rent and especially the home cost is more than here in Dallas.

Being descended from them... I'm certainly glad British forefathers were White racists !!

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Half of old Americans have no money saved ..... the other half find the money they saved worth half of what it was, probably wish they'd blown it all too.

 

I am not sure if they were, though, I remember them costing about the same, now you're paying more for the tech

and you can't easily fix the tech

 

I have no clue what it was when they were young, but I doubt that, as no one could have afforded them

looked it up

https://www.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_cost_of_a_washing_machine_in_1950

"$170.00 and $220.00." - so a couple of weeks wages at the then min wage