The Retirement Gamble We're All Making (Review of PBS Documentary)

Forbes ^ | 04/22/2013 | Richard Eisenberg,

[Kid Shelleen]

Martin Smith, an Emmy-winning correspondent for PBS’ Frontline, is worried about his retirement — and yours.

In his excellent Frontline documentary airing Tuesday, April 23, on PBS, The Retirement Gamble (check local listings), Smith, 64, says: “I started saving for my retirement in my late 20s. But along the way I dipped into my nest egg … not once, but several times. And now, like millions of other baby boomers, I, too, don’t have enough. Most of my savings went to pay for my kids’ educations. A divorce and the crash of 2008 didn’t help either. I’m now planning to work for as long as I possibly can.”

[VRW Conspirator]

The definition of retirement was perverted.

[dragnet2]

I knows those who worked for government, retired at 50 years old straight up and now live the rest of their lives getting tax payer pay checks to the tune of 75,000+++ per year. As their wive bitch about it not being enough...yuk yuk..

Those folk who'd worked for government then turn around and tell the private sector peons, who's income has been stagnate for the past 15 years, "Ya should have saved more stupid, ya think social security will carry ya"...Then the private sector tax peon picks up the paper and reads, "Government loots social security fund"

Ya got to love it.

[Repealthe17thAmendment]

If we didn’t have to take care of millions of freeloaders, we could save more for retirement. If this guy doesn’t expose the destructive nature of Democratic policies on retirement savings, he’s nothing more than a fraud, and a tool of the DNC.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

David: You know it’s a very sacred thing, the nest egg, and if you had understood the Nest Egg Principle, as we will now call it in the first of many lectures that you will get, because if we are ever to acquire another nest egg, we both have to understand what it means. The nest egg is a protector, like a god, and we sit under the nest egg and we are protected by it. Without it, no protection. Want me to go on? It pours rain. Hey! The rain hits the egg and pours off the side. Without the egg? Wet. It’s over. But you didn’t understand it and that’s why we’re where we are.

Linda: I understood the nest egg …

David:Please do me a favor. Don’t use the word. You may not use that word. It is off-limits to you. Only those in this house that understand the nest egg may use it. And don’t use any part of it either. Don’t use “nest.” Don’t use “egg.” You’re out in the forest, you can point - the bird lives in a round stick. And … and … you have things over easy with toast.

[dfwgator]

One of my all-time favorite movies.

[plain talk]

I dont see Social security going away. Politicans will just print more money before they piss off voters. Nevertheless younger people should not absolutely count on it.

Confiscatation of 401K’s? no. They will reduce the lifetime cap. So increasingly you can save less tax free. It will mainly hurt the wealthy. But even if they lower the cap to zero you can still save for retirement the old fashioned way with after tax investments allocated across mix of stocks and bonds. a 40 year investment plan where you invest 10-30% of your salary should work out well even without tax deferral. The problem is most people dont have the discipline

The bigger problem is confiscatory taxation. Gambling is for mathematically challenged fools. Almost no chance to win legitimately. I do it occasionally as entertanment but thats it.

[Fai Mao]

I am 52. My wife and I are about to “Retire” in the sense that we will not be working for the universities any more but will be living off passive income from rental properties.

There is no magic trick to this just some obvious things that everyone can do

1. Stay out of debt. The only possible exception is a mortgage but even then do not max out the finance. Credit cards are good but pay the bill in full every month

2. Never buy a new car unless you plan to drive it for 30 years

3.Give at least 10% of your income to charity it keeps you humble

4. Save or invest at least 20% of your income

The trick is to do the last 2 items when you make $1000 a month otherwise you won’t do it when you make $10000 a month

[Houghton M.]

The bigger problem is inflation. It eats away savings whether before or after taxes, whether 401K or IRA or CDs or you name it.

Yeah I know about gold. If everyone tried to put all their savings in gold

guess what happens to the price of gold???

[Caliban]

Do what I just did back in February this year. We sold everything in the USA, bought a house and land in San Juan del Sur Nicaragua...bought a 2 bd 2 ba house on 9 acres for $115,000 USD.

We live on much less because the fast paced rat race doesn’t exist, we have a stress free life hanging out on our Pacific beach 20 miles north of Costa Rica with other expats while learning Spanish and helping children learn Enlish. The kids are funny, they notice my Texan accent versus another friend’s who is from England.

Monthly expenses are 15 usd for propane for cooking, 25-40 a month or eclectic (depends if we run the A/C which is rarely needed), 600 for food, rum, beer and restaurants (a month), health clinics are free and routine things like dental cleanings and check ups are very inexpensive.

Couple across the street had their 3rd baby here, total bill...delivery baby care hospital EVERYTHING less than 3000 USD. The hospital is a USA accredited hospital with many expat doctors woirking here.

Ohhh...a Cell phone runs about 20 a month and wifi is 60

Paid my annual property taxes which were 250.00 a year a nd a 10% discount sinice we paid them before march 31.

Many many any young people here from USA raising families and many more retires heading here too.

Top destinations for a stress free and inexpensive retirement are:

Ecuador
Nicaragua
Panama

Little more expensive are
Belize
Costa Rica

Haven’t regretted my move and more family members are joining us after they visit us here and spend time seeing it is just like the 1950s pace of life and sense of community.

The government is about to start a canal from the Caribbean to the Pacific to pick up trade traffic fom Panama. Huge investments going on here.

Will be applying or a dual passport thru Panama in June, will soon travel internationally no longer as a USA citizen being spied upon.

Join the hordes of people who CAN see a way out of the looming disaster that will spread across America in the years to come from government financial bankruptcy, inner city riots and continued terrorism.

Do it while you can, some day the USA will prevent you and your money from leaving.

[Houghton M.]

Yeah, Kulaks who do all the right things that you name (and I have done every damn single one of them) will be precisely the ones that the freeloaders will eviscerate, precisely because we did the right thing and played by the rules.

In a lawless world, it’s open season on the lawful.

[meadsjn]

Retirement Assets Total $19.5 Trillion in Fourth Quarter 2012

US National Debt, April 2013, $16.8 Trillion

Almost looks like a plan.

[napscoordinator]

Only if you started working for the federal government before 1980.

[lacrew]

This makes perfect sense to me.

I make an above average salary - yet I drive a below average car and live in a below average house.

I instinctively know that many around me are not saving for their own future....and I am likely to get the short end of that stick.

[plain talk]

Well taxes takes far more than inflation. But yeah inflation will get you too. And it is much worse than what they advertise.

[SgtHooper]

“Most of my savings went to pay for my kids’ educations.”

And whose fault izat!? Stupid is as stupid does.

[Pining_4_TX]

Retirement is a gamble for everyone now. Put your money in CDs (as many older folks have done) and the return you get is miniscule and eaten up by inflation, buy stocks or gold, and who knows? Spend it now before the government takes it? No matter what any of us do, we’re tooled.

[cookcounty]

"$25-40 a month for eclectic>"

Big deal. People on Clark Street in Chicago get their eclectic for free ;-)

[PLMerite]

“Only if you started working for the federal government before 1980.”

Federal (CSRS) retirement is 55 if you have enough years in. Yeah, it’s not a bad gig, but the idea behind it was to keep US Civil Servants from being like those elsewhere (like Mexico) who operate on bribes and corruption.

[sodpoodle]

Sounds great - so why are so many South Americans coming to the US?????

Have been retired for a few years and I advise everyone I meet to not retire as long as you are able to continue working. After years of hard work and routines you can get bored in a hurry unless you like joining clubs, playing golf, bird watching, cruises, shopping or gardening. Tried the retirement community - but it was a bad fit for me - so I left. More better for married couples IMHO.

I am lucky to have great, successful busy adult children who live fairly close but since I moved around a lot during my working years I don’t have a neighborhood clan or ‘old friends’ network of shared memories. Money is not the only concern for retirees - there are health issues and loss of routines.....so plan to get involved in some (cheap or money-making) creative hobbies and stay active.

[Caliban]

You left out India and China...you are not being honest with the illegal problem which is NOT solely Spanish speaking people from this hemisphere.

To be sure the Highest illegal immigration is from Honduras and Guatamala, 2 countries that are being destroyed from within by drug trafficking.

Nicaraguans typically are all cattle ranchers, coffee, rice, beans, sugar cane, bamboo, exotic woods, bananas and pineapple growers.

The canal project and the massive wind turbine farms here too keep the better educated locals employed.

The booming medical vacation resorts are springing up across the country.

I speak for Nicaragua and their path to improving their country and local pride they have no incentive to leave, they have family and work here.

Shame that no longer exists in the old decaying USA.