Monday, February 4, 2013
In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn’t Better ... It’s Brutal
This article explains how baby boomers have suffered the most financial pain from the recession. Their retirement savings and home values fell sharply at the worst time possible - just before they needed to cash out. Unemployment rates for Americans closing in on retirement are much lower than those of young people, but that does not tell the whole story. Those who are unemployed and in their 50s and 60s have a tremendously hard time finding new work once laid off. Understandably, businesses often prefer to higher younger professionals because they have less health risk and the training they receive can be put to use for a longer period of time. As college students, we are fortunate to be learning about retirement at a young age to better prepare us. It seems so far away, but we need to begin saving now in order to take advantage of the power of compound interest.
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Yes, and another way that the baby boomers will suffer in retirement is in social security benefits. Since social security is a pay as you go system, the retired must depend on the current work force for their social security benefits. Since the baby boomer generation is so large they will outnumber the workforce which will be us, and it will be difficult for us to provide benefits for all of them.
ReplyDeleteIt unfortunate to think that if America keeps the same system we have now, it is very likely that our generation and even our parents generation might not have access to the social security benefits that have been available to past generations. The percent of older people applying for social security spiked during the recession, since many were out of work. This depleting of the resources is a scary thought for every generation right now.
ReplyDeleteConsidering that social security is an outdated government program that was made back in the 30's and hasn't had significant changes to keep up with the growing number of people applying for social security, it isn't surprising to see that the elderly are having to go back to work, especially in this slow economy. The government needs to make some big changes to social security such as pushing back the age when people can get social security since elderly people are living longer these days thanks to medical advances. And of course people can't see social security as their only means during retirement, a good retirement plan from work or personal savings is a necessity.
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