of the world. In the decades to come, we will witness millions of elderly Americans, the Baby Boomers and others, slipping into poverty. Too frail to work, too poor to retire will become the “new normal” for many elderly Americans.
That dire prediction, which I wrote two years ago, is already coming true. Our national demographics, coupled with indisputable glaringly insufficient retirement savings and human physiology, suggest that a catastrophic outcome for at least a significant percentage of our elderly population is inevitable. With the average 401(k) balance for 65 year olds estimated at $25,000 by independent experts – $100,000 if you believe the retirement planning industry - the decades many elders will spend in forced or elected “retirement” will be grim. (Update: In response to readers’ questions about the lower number, Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor of economics at the New School for Social Research, estimates that 75% of Americans nearing retirement in 2010 had less than $30,000 in their retirement accounts.)
At Forbes,
here.
The finances have only gotten worse for that demographic. If you are in this age range you are going to be in the middle of tens of millions of Americans who have no money and are completely dependent on Social Security and Medicare to live.
If you are acquainted with the kind of life that brings for most who have no other assets or resources, and see the misery that people live in today when that is all they have, it ought to scare you to death. Because there is a damn good possibility that there will be less to live on in the future.
When it's you.
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