Half of Americans over 55 may retire poor

[Zorro]

COVID-19 job losses, early withdrawals may decimate retirement finances

By Howard Gold

How badly is COVID-19 hurting Americans on the cusp of retirement? Maybe worse than we thought.

In an interview, economist Teresa Ghilarducci, a professor at The New School in New York City and one of the nation’s leading experts on retirement, told me that half—that’s right, half—of Americans aged 55 and up will retire in poverty or near poverty.

“Our data is showing that, because of the COVID recession, about 50% of workers over the age of 55 will be poor or near-poor adults when they reach 65,” she said.

How poor is that? “A person who’s 65 will be near-poor or poor if they’re living on less than $20,000 a year,” she told me. “I think we could all agree that means chronic deprivation for the rest of your life.”

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/half-of-americans-over-55-may-retire-poor-2020-10-01?mod=home-page

[fantase56]

1. retire.........???

[ResistantAmerican17]

2. That's funny. It's funny because it's true!!! Retire????

[Ferrets are Cool]

4. That was my first thought and you beat me to it

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. I'd like to know what the numbers currently are, or were 10 years ago,

or any other measure.

Even before this pandemic, so many people had no savings, no pension, no 401k. I will point out that workers who chose not to participate in a 401k were truly stupid. But having a pension or not having a pension was not in their control.

So many people never take a look at retirement, at what might be needed, at what their pension, if they have one, will be*, how much they ought to be contributing to a 401k, how much Social Security they will eventually get.

A lot of people think that SS will magically mean a great retirement, don't save a penny, and are totally surprised when reality sets in.

*A lot of pensions have magically disappeared, thanks to things like systematic underfunding of the same. I know. I have a small pension that ought to be literally three times what it is, but the company I worked for didn't fund it properly, went through a couple of bankruptcies, and handed the whole mess over to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. At least in my case I'd only worked ten years for that company at the beginning of my working life, so I never expected it to be even as much as it currently is. It's those who worked there 30 or 40 years and who expected it would be at least 2/3 of their retirement income who were truly screwed. Which is why those who condemn 401k plans do not fully understand what they are talking about.