60 minutes on 401K losses

[malaise]

The raid on these funds by Wall Street

[stray cat]

1. I'm not the only one who is lower than the money I put into it.

[malaise]

2. This is heart breaking

One of my close friends lost 40% of his two years before retirement.

[stray cat]

3. This guy on 60 minutes is a self-righteous jerk! Its your fault you've lost your retirement

because you invested irresponsibly instead of putting it under your bed!

[Subdivisions]

5. He just said that no one should have any expectation that they will

ever get what they've lost back.

[malaise]

7. I hope that from now on people learn to

find ways to save their own money and stop giving these thieves any more.

[stray cat]

11. The trouble is to retire you have to beat inflation so saving will never get you there.

[TahitiNut]

8. It is, in the same sense it's your fault if you lose at a 'game of Three-Card Monty on the sidewalk.

The finance industry salivates at the idea of millions of novice 'investors' with trillions just waiting to be sucked dry.

How many folks older than 50 shifted into T-Bills and other secure investments??? Uh-huh.

[malaise]

9. Bingo

and 60 Minutes continues to present superficial discussions to keep their corporate friends happy

[GoesTo11]

15. "You fucked up - you trusted us"

[nini]

18. That is true. Disgusting - but true.

Every 401k I have ever been in has multiple options as to what type of fund you want to put your money into. Of course they recommend you be more aggressive when younger then move funds to more conservative funds the closer you get to retiring, but ultimately it is your choice.

I know many people who threw their money in high risk funds because they did good in the 90s :eyes: I moved my money to a traditional type retirement savings fund after the 2004 election because I simply did not trust the last 4 years of the Bush Admin and knew they'd screw the economy big time before leaving office. I have luckily made money since then and have not lost.

So, even though the bastards played the people they could play, individuals are ultimately in charge and too many quit paying attention to what was going on and didn't adjust their allotments.

[hlthe2b]

21. I might be arrested if I revealed the thoughts I had watching him....

May he and those of his ilck face their karmic "rewards" sooner than later...

[Subdivisions]

4. It's all been stolen all these years and we all bought into it. n/t

[TahitiNut]

6. All the 401K cheerleaders on DU should be paying close attention.

For most, a 401K is fleece begging to be sheared. :shrug:

[DemReadingDU]

10. and the Bush administration wanted to put our Social Security into a 401(K), n/t

[DemReadingDU]

12. link to the program

4/19/09 Retirement Dreams Disappear With 401(k)s
60 Minutes: Older Americans' 401(k)s Have Plummeted; Many Fear They Will Never Get To Retire

60 Minutes wanted to ask Wray, who's been so bullish on 401(k) plans, one last question about what the future holds for people like Terry and Donna McNally and Kathleen Coleman.

"Most of the people that we've talked to are 50 and 60 years old and have sustained these losses say there is no way they're ever gonna make them back. Do you agree with that?" Kroft asked.

"I think we have to be truth tellers," Wray replied. "I think that when a person has hit this point, and we've had this unfortunate situation, I don't think we can misrepresent what the possibilities are."

"And reality is that money's not coming back that they've lost," Kroft said.

"They can't count on it," Wray replied. "They have to…it may. Maybe they have long, maybe if they work ten more years, it'll come back by the…but it's important that they not have unrealistic expectations."

more...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/17/60minutes/main4951968.shtml

[deminks]

13. Not one effing word about Bush diverting 401k funds to his Wall Street buds

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3816935

http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2009/04/05/workers_steered_to_high_risk_investing/

WASHINGTON - Shortly before the first signs of the stock market collapse, the Bush administration made a crucial decision that has propelled an estimated one to two million workers into stock-heavy retirement funds.

Many of the funds in which workers were automatically enrolled dropped more than 25 percent last year, while a more conservative investment strategy rejected by the Bush administration would have resulted in a gain of 4.7 percent.

The administration's decisions came in response to a congressional mandate to encourage more workers to participate in company-sponsored retirement savings plans. The Bush administration came up with a rule that enabled businesses to automatically enroll their workers in tax-free 401(k) retirement plans.

If the workers failed to specify how they wanted their money invested, the company would be required by law to place their retirement money in investment funds that, for the most part, relied heavily on stocks. The administration specifically rejected calls for a more conservative investment option.

(end snip)

So, you want to know where it went? Ask Bush, although we are told by Rahm and Obama not to look back, just to keep looking forward.

[MissDeeds]

14. Think of the ramifications in the years to come

Many who have seen their retirements decimated are baby boomers. We could be facing a time when millions of these folks have no retirement income to see them through the latter years of their lives. Homeless elderly. Wow. What a great democracy - equity in suffering - except for the rich and those in the good old boy network that protects its own.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. The picture you paint is, indeed, what will happen

Apart from those with defined benefit retirements. I know not one single soul who is going to retire better than poor or destitute.

[RagAss]

17. Suicides will soar, as well as patricide and matricide at the hands of...

their children, who will struggle to survive.

[Sherman A1]

20. They already have started to soar

Suicides are up and I expect they will continue to be so.

[flamingdem]

19. Jeez people let the stimulus take hold before throwing in the towel nt

[dflprincess]

22. 25 years too late 60 Minutes exposes 401Ks for the scams they are

I suppose better late than never.

[Catshrink]

23. I lost 40%.

I'm not sure what to do about it, whether to leave the rest in or cut my losses and pull it out. A friend of mine says it "isn't a loss until you take the money out."

You're right, this guy is an asshole.

[salin]

24. In the past year it has become clear to me... retirement will depend on savigs

rather than investments. Which is frightening - how many years of saving will equal a year of retirement? And currently saving accounts and money markets earn less than 1%. Even if the money is safe, it isn't growing.

Meanwhile the local fox radio station is promoting yet another seminar on growing wealth that says "Saving is for losers".

My investments (not a lot, thankfully) are worth less than the orignal principal invested. My savings isn't growing much - but it isn't going negative. Guess I am a loser. But I could live for a year or two if I lost my job, or have a year or two of retirement saved if I have stable employment. However the idea of living only on my "savings" for retirement has woken me up. I spend less, because savings has become so important to me. Sadly, this reality - if many came to the same conclusion - is bad for the consumption economy.