My mom is more or less in this boat right now. I myself am also experiencing various degrees of constant anxiety over my financial future, with part a considerable part thanks to retirement outlooks. I looked up a retirement calculator, and if I continue to put in 15% towards it as I am currently, a (pretty conservative) estimate predicts I don't retire period. An optimistic one says I could still be A-OK, but that's merely meeting goals. Those sound like lousy odds to me.
My wife's aunt and uncle haul their motor home down to Florida for six months a year, where they "volunteer" at a KOA camp. I hadn't previously put together their layoffs and their work schedule because they're "retired" (he's riding a bike across the US right now, in fact) and they have a "farm" (which is actually an ancient structure on a bunch of fallow land in rural Wisconsin) but they're itinerant workers in their 70s. Period. I grew up on food stamps; we were off them before I could really remember but I remember a lot of living with relatives and my posse was not the rich kids for damn sure. So when I look at my investments and recognize that both my wife and I have multiple IRAs and 401ks and I'm vested in a pension and my health insurance is cheap there's a sense of thankfulness, but there's also a sense of "well duh, this is exactly what you were promised you're just keeping up with the Joneses." But I haven't seen the Joneses in a long-ass time. I'm slowly starting to realize I left the Joneses in the dust. My cheap mortgage, healthy retirement plan, child in private school and fully-paid-for vehicles put me in truly rarified air. I'm upper-class not because I rose out of the ranks of the great proletariat but because everyone else has fallen away.
I really thought having a terminal degree in a STEM field would equip me to knock this one out. It looks more like I'm gonna have to hustle to make it work. I can afford to keep up with the 15% contributions, but it means that I won't be saving up for a house, family, or any of that other life crap. Keeping up with it right now means I have to scale back my lifestyle a bit. We've already locked-in dates for this Japan trip that's been in the works, but my gf is gonna be stuck with a greater share of the expenses because I just can't afford it anymore. it's a good thing she makes almost 2x what I do. I basically need to bail on my current career placement to find the highest-paying industry position I can get STAT.well duh, this is exactly what you were promised
Multiply by everyone who worked as hard or harder than their parents only to discover that it was no longer enough and Trumpism starts to make sense. Multiply by everyone who wants to have a kid or buy a house or has a medical event and Trumpism starts to make sense. Multiply by everyone who has no other career path and Trumpism starts to make sense.I really thought having a terminal degree in a STEM field would equip me to knock this one out.
I can afford to keep up with the 15% contributions, but it means that I won't be saving up for a house, family, or any of that other life crap. Keeping up with it right now means I have to scale back my lifestyle a bit.
I basically need to bail on my current career placement to find the highest-paying industry position I can get STAT.
Does it have provisions for retirees, and is it likely to still exist during your retirement? That's the nut I can't crack. I have an HSA, and if I trend out my last 15 years of employment another 30 years it will have a modest sum in it, but dealing with high costs without regular income in a period where need is typically the highest sounds difficult. A friend in her early 50s has talked about having a slim savings, and that she needs her car to last until her house is paid off in a couple years. Most of my friends (mid 30s) rent, though most of my coworkers own. Growing up, middle class meant having a house and upper middle class meant a nicer house, a vacation in the summer, and a winter ski trip (even if only to the Upper Peninsula). Today middle class seems to be "month to month comfortable budget but no ability to budget for the future." Upper middle class is the same but with a budget for vacations and the future.my health insurance is cheap
Yeah, d00d. I'm in a strong union. The provisions for retirees are what's driving our aggression - IATSE came tearing out of the hills at every production in LA because they need dues to pay for retirement. Camera union? Local 600? They hit their guys up for $20k buy-in and $1100 a month. Our pension is underfunded but not as underfunded as some. It's lookin' better. And I mean, it's one of four or five avenues I have so I'm lucky as hell. I think that's my big note. I'm steadily realizing how fucking lucky I am.