Why Aren't People Retiring? (Part Two)

in #life7 years ago

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People aren't retiring, Why Do you think? In this second part, I go into detail on whats going on.

So Many People Will NEVER Retire

Not only do we get the short end of the stick, But no one is guaranteed retirement.
I worked with older women at the hotel. And they made me nauseous. They were some of the kindest people. But they were dirt poor. They had this incredible work ethic. But they were older, And they would probably never retire either.
All of these realizations made me realize; I NEED TO ESCAPE!
Many people don't retire by choice; They like working. They need things to do. But a lot of people can't afford retirement unless they significantly drop the quality of life they are living.

What the heck is going on? Why is it, That so many hard-working Americans who put in their 40 years Aren't getting the freedom they deserve?

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People Don't Start Saving In Time

I started my retirement saving at 18 years old.
I put it in my IRA with UPS. But I quickly realized I don't like these retirement plans. Besides they didn't match it. Instead, UPS gives you a pension.
So I took the money out and invested it on my own, And today it's still invested. I also didn't like the thought of them telling me when I could have my money, Especially when the age seems to keep going up. To me, 65 and 1/2 seem too old to retire, And I hope I can somehow retire sooner than that.
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Many millennials aren't even saving. This could be for a variety of reasons of course. But it's important to save SOMETHING. Even if it's only 1.00 per day.
Treat retirement savings as a tax. I mean, The government so rudely forces you to pay tax, They take your money, and you have NO SAY in how it's spent. Pretty ridiculous right? You still survive even though you have someone "stealing" funds from your paycheck. So do the same with your retirement. Rob yourself a little every paycheck and save it.
This adds up over time.
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We Live Longer

This is making things more complicated, With technology advancing, we have the gift to live longer. Does that mean we should work more than 40 years now?
I won't, But if you want. That's a choice for you.
This means we have to save up more money for retirement, Which can be difficult.
We have to plan accordingly. You can always cut expenses down and live a cheaper life. This will give you leverage on saving more.

Our Health Is Deteriorating

Oops, I lied. If you live somewhere besides the U.S., then you will probably live longer. But health in the U.S. Is deteriorating.
Big surprise huh?
That means you'll probably live a shorter life, But you'll have to pay more in health care costs. This is something that can affect your retirement amount.

Older Discrimination

Maybe working for a longer period of your life, Doesn't bother you.
But there is a factor you also have to take into account as you get older. And that's discrimination. Even though it's illegal. Many employers are still guilty of doing it consciously or subconsciously. This can affect your chances of getting a job that you want. You may end up at really crappy jobs.
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fewer Employers Have Retirement Accounts

Many smaller companies can't afford nice retirement benefits to their employees. And with more people starting their businesses we are starting to see more small businesses. This can make it difficult to save for retirement when you have a job that offers no extra incentive for saving.

Also another problem with people who do have access to a retirement account. Many aren't even saving it. Some employers will match your contributions which add up way fast! A 1,000 deposit. Means you get a 2,000 deposit later. Who doesn't like free money?

Conclusion

There are a lot of reasons to why people aren't retiring these days. And it's scary. If you want to have the OPTION to retire, You need to do something about it now.
I became self-employed, so I feel like I've somewhat retired already. A self-employment is also a great option if you want to retire early. Although like everything else it has a lot of risks. But it also will allow you to have a more flexible lifestyle.

Do you know people who haven't retired yet? Do you know why?

What Is your Goal With Saving?

Have you Started Saving?

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@lauralemons Drew me !
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I think a big part of it comes down to what you plan to do during retirement. Imagine if you inherited enough money to immediately retire if you wanted. What would you do with all that time? For me I'd probably continue to work, not in the job I'm currently in but doing something I really want to do. It'd be hard to fill in all that time with just leisure activities. I'd really need some fulfilling meaningful projects.

Alan Watts has a great talk about this that i've listened to many times:

Really? It would I agree! Sometimes I feel that way about being self employed. While I'm still on a strict budget I have to decide what I want to do each day. I think my retirement would be alittle more expensive, Because I would want to travel a lot. Although I also wouldn't mind working abroad for extra cash.

Well, for me nothing gives freedom like when you are the boss of your self, but come to think of it, one's take home pay determines the level of savings one can have for rainy day.i am self employed, i run my own business and hoping to having my own accounting firm in the foreseeable future before my self retirement.thanks for such a life lesson topic.you have my follow and upvote.

Exactly! I love that you are self employed like I am hehe :)

Exactly! Heheh I'm glad that we are able to both be self employed. An Accounting firm sounds really interesting.

Ya the problem is the only places that give decent 401k matching are jobs that I absolutely can't stand. The ones that make me wanna commit suicide, because I feel like I'm in a damn prison.

OMG! Agreed! UPS felt like that on many days. They give you great benefits, But working in a 120 degree trailer during the summer months doing physical labor was brutal.

I can't even believe you actually did that kind of job. Your picture makes you look like the complete opposite of the type of person that does that type of work! UPS is always looking for people too. Not to mention, the damage you're possibly doing to your back lifting constantly...where are the machines to do that work?! C'mon engineers!

So true!! I still have messed up knees from that kind of work! Hehhe thank you! Thats a huge compliment. I don't look like I can handle it, But I totally can. But over the long term it can't be good for your health.

Right? But then if they made machines I feel like a lot of jobs would be lost lol..

Yeah...well let's hope most of us invest in some good cryptos (ahem cough Steemit) and many of us become well off so when the machines take the rest of those crappy jobs, we won't have to worry. There's already too many people and not enough jobs to go around. Can you imagine when we have 10 billion or 15 billion people?! Yikkes!

also do people really know what is there 401k or how about what happens if the market crashed near there retirement

NOPE! I suspect that 90% of people never look at their 401k's at all. I listen to a financial show soemtimes and he always asks them..."What company manages your funds? What ETF's or Index funds are in there?" Most people can't answer those questions at all. When this market tanks...& it's about to very soon, those same people are gonna be hit blind sided AGAIN like they were in 2008. Sad.

#savings. When it comes to investments, time is the key factor. Save when you are young so you can retire early.

Exactly! The earlier you start the more it piles up. Investing can be slow sometimes LOL.

most people think there 401k is an investment when they don't control what is in it nor is really an asset

I am against something called saving, mainly because inflation will beat you and your savings when you want to retire. Investing, on the other hand, can make you retire, owning assets as well can make you retire, but I doubt saving will ever do. My favourites investments right now are Crypto as it is high risk but as well a potential of high return. And Metals as well cause I believe they are on big discount at the moment.

Wow! True! I agree. Investing is very important. More important than saving.
I love investing in cryptos as well. But I haven't done any metal investing yet.

Thank you for both posts about retirement. I still have a while to work. But, I've noticed with myself that I have to be doing something or I get fidgety. Both of my grandpa's worked into their 70's before retiring because they liked working. In the long run I don't think I will ever retire. I may "retire" from the 9 to 5 job, but I will replace it with other work. My plan is that when I am in my 60's and 70's I'll still have a job; it will just be at my own hours.

I've also seen fewer retirements in the workplace. And I believe it is remnants from the recession as well as people not saving as much either.

Thanks again for the post!

Ya know what's interesting...I read a study where they said that elderly people pass away quicker after retiring if they don't have anything to do on a regular basis. That can include hobbies, or another side gig.

WOW Really @mrdeerants ? My grandma said something about her friends similar to that. She said that she has better health than they do. And she has to go to work everyday.

Thats still retiring I feel like, When you can choose what you do with your time, You've made it! I love that attitude though, I'm the same way. I love lots or projects and work in my life. It makes me feel fulfilled.

We used to die in our sleep in old age. Now we have 100s of diseases and surgeries and we suffer until death.

Ugh! This is so true and scary LOL.

I get it now, but maybe got it too late. Wish someone had taught me this stuff in High School, rather than the baloney I was taught. Had a job in the early days of 401K accounts that matched 100%. Wow - That I took advantage of. My wife made me do it. I thank her for that. The small Company I was with dropped the program after the Dot Com Crash. My money was with one of those Merril Lynch mutual fund things. I was looking at my statements and trying to figure out what the "" were they doing. Every time I though I had it figured out, they would come up with a new improved format. I had it!! My employer was not putting anything away for me anyway. My wife was stocking money away in a bank saving account. I had to learn how to invest. Best thing I ever did. I'm not well off, but having investing skills from trial and error, and lots of reading, I will be OK.

Right? I/m sorry that you had to deal with all of that! I learn more and more everyday that many of the things we were taught were lies.

Soon there is no such thing as retirement because social security will be gone and ontop of that....dollar value goes down every year...saving cash is worthless

great post, upvoted

on top of that I rarely see someone live out of retirement...I see many retired that still working and not really enjoying retirement

That breaks my heart! Especially when you spend your whole life working, You deserve to enjoy some time off.

So true :( It sucks! I hate having to pay for social security or any tax for that matter. haha.

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