05 May 2008

Scary, scary fact of the day

I heard on Morning Edition (or the Marketplace morning report...) that half of Americans have less than $50K in retirement savings.* A few years ago I read that the average 40-year-old woman has about $7K in retirement savings.

Pause for Implication Percolation.

I think I'll start investing in companies that make cheap cat food.


*I have more than that because I believe in my 401(k) possibly more than I believe in the three paragraphs of the Nicene Creed.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was shocked by that this morning, too!

I mean, sure, that number makes sense if you are Very Young and have not been working for long. But they were talking about why people are working past traditional retirement age!

Anonymous said...

I fully intend to work until I die. I have good medical insurance and I intend to insist that little be done to keep me alive once age related illnesses kick in. I have enough life insurance to cover those I leave behind. Retirement savings is just "funny money"... watch it disappear, watch it reappear, watch as a bunch of schmucks (who can't do anything for the real benefit of society) get fancy cars, big houses, etc. making it disappear and reappear. You can count me in that "shocking" and "scary" group who refuses to contribute to that nonsense.

Anonymous said...

Radix malorum est cupiditas.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. Think about what "retirement" means. Boil it down. As I see it, it means "I've contributed enough, now society owes me." And a retirement account just adds "I've kept score to prove it, nya nya." But, the joke will be when society says, "Oh yea? Take your account and shove it." I bet that happens (like the "housing crisis" only worse) before I reach "retirement age".