Generations: Your Place In The Coming Retirement Crisis

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Whether you are a Boomer or a Buster (or a Gen Y), you might be concerned about the ramifications of the retiring Baby Boomer Generation on the country's, and your personal economic well-being. This is a global trend. The U.S. is a disaster waiting to happen, and Japan is investing heavily in robotics with the belief that there will simply not be enough people in the workforce to care for their aging population.



What must happen, and how will you prepare for the vast changes that will come about when the Boomers retire en masse?



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Bust



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5263514.stm



http://business.bostonherald.com/bus...ticleid=155070



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5262500.stm



http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/det...ral&m=8&y=2006



From this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5241346.stm

Quote:

The Pensions Crisis



Starting in 2010, the baby boom generation will reach 65 and start to retire.



Over the next 20 years, the number of people reaching retirement age is set to rise dramatically.



Not only are more people retiring, they are also living longer.



And this bulge now poses an enormous problem to pension systems not just in the US, but in many other developed countries where the baby boom started later.



In the US state pension system, Social Security is coming under increasing pressure as its accumulated surplus is running down. The official estimate is that it will run out of money - unless taxes are raised - some time between 2030 and 2040.



And spending on healthcare is under even more strain, with spending on the US Medicare system rising even faster.



The younger, smaller cohort will have to fund the costs of retirement for the baby boom generation, leading to a relative reduction in their living standards.



And with this older generation disproportionately likely to vote - and influence the electoral system - social security is likely to be at the top of the political agenda.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 36
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    There are plenty of people - the Japaneese just don't want other ethnicities to gain a significant share of the population, which is why they are working on robots instead of importing workers.
  • Reply 2 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by e1618978


    There are plenty of people - the Japaneese just don't want other ethnicities to gain a significant share of the population, which is why they are working on robots instead of importing workers.



    Their society may be affected in a very negative way economically.
  • Reply 3 of 36
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich


    Their society may be affected in a very negative way economically.



    Probably - it seems kind of rigid, and rigidity usually leads to less than optimal profits. I don't know if it is related, but their debt/GDP is three times as high as ours is, kind of sucks to be them (except that they get all the cool toys before we do).
  • Reply 4 of 36
    In typical thread fashion, the topic has now derailed into a discussion of Japan exclusively.
  • Reply 5 of 36
    hmm 2010 I will just be graduating from college. I like that timing.
  • Reply 6 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Brently


    hmm 2010 I will just be graduating from college. I like that timing.



    If you plan on going into home health care, or hiring yourself out as a personal trainer or personal shopper, you'll make out like a bandit.
  • Reply 7 of 36
    The real crisis for future generations is global warming.
  • Reply 8 of 36
    I am preparing to move to Slovakia unless social security and medicare get realistic. The boomer generation retiring might just be the impetus for getting this done. The only reason why it hasn't been done yet is because we have a bunch of career politicians afraid of losing votes, but the reality of the situation should make reform inevitable. If not, I will have lost faith in this country.



    P.S. This should be in PO.
  • Reply 9 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel


    I am preparing to move to Slovakia unless social security and medicare get realistic. The boomer generation retiring might just be the impetus for getting this done. The only reason why it hasn't been done yet is because we have a bunch of career politicians afraid of losing votes, but the reality of the situation should make reform inevitable. If not, I will have lost faith in this country.



    P.S. This should be in PO.



    What is PO?
  • Reply 10 of 36
    Political Outsider.
  • Reply 11 of 36
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Guys look, you're hyping this way out of proportion. Everything will be okay. It's like Phil Gramm said (R-Tx): Old people don't need food stamps, they eat less. I say let's cut taxes, increase spending, and don't worry about social security, that's fuzzy math. And global warming is just something those wacky environmentalist commies made up. It's really a big lie so the scientists can profit off it.
  • Reply 12 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aquatic


    Guys look, you're hyping this way out of proportion. Everything will be okay. It's like Phil Gramm said (R-Tx): Old people don't need food stamps, they eat less. I say let's cut taxes, increase spending, and don't worry about social security, that's fuzzy math. And global warming is just something those wacky environmentalist commies made up. It's really a big lie so the scientists can profit off it.



    At least we agree about one point...



    Quote:

    cut taxes



    ...cutting spending is a political fantasy at this point, unfortunately for us fiscally conservative types, barring the collapse of the economy...
  • Reply 13 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel


    Political Outsider.



    I see. This topic is under General Discussion because I was curious what people's personal plans were under this scenario, not how you'll vote, etc. It's a fact there are way, way more Boomers than the follow-up generations, and there will be an economic crisis. Nearly everyone in every party recognizes this.
  • Reply 14 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich


    What is PO?



    Pissed Off.
  • Reply 15 of 36
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    and let's make sure illegal aliens get more social security and free medical care....we can afford it.
  • Reply 16 of 36
    An interesting point of view, but remember this... immigrants might be the ones taking care of you or your parents during the Great Boomer Retirement.
  • Reply 17 of 36
    I'm telling you... retirement should be the last thing we should be worried about right now. Thanks to the previous two generations, global warming will likely change the way we live, perhaps, in the way where we don't live. The most important thing about our future that we should be worrying about right now is slowing and ultimatly reversing global warming before it is to late.



    If you are interesting in finding out more about Global Warming,



    Here is a paper I wrote about it: http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/~ichamber/cuttingedge.pdf



    I suggest seeing the movie "The Inconvienient Truth" and/or reading the book (Same title, by Al Gore).



    Global Warming is not a partisan issue. I don't care if you republican, democrat, green party, communist, the party of shitfullness, Global Warming is happening, and it needs to be addressed. There is no question as to whether it is real. 100% of all scientists will tell you Global Warming is real, and it is human caused.
  • Reply 18 of 36
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icfireball


    I'm telling you... retirement should be the last thing we should be worried about right now. Thanks to the previous two generations, global warming will likely change the way we live, perhaps, in the way where we don't live. The most important thing about our future that we should be worrying about right now is slowing and ultimatly reversing global warming before it is to late.



    If you are interesting in finding out more about Global Warming,



    Here is a paper I wrote about it: http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/~ichamber/cuttingedge.pdf



    I suggest seeing the movie "The Inconvienient Truth" and/or reading the book (Same title, by Al Gore).



    Global Warming is not a partisan issue. I don't care if you republican, democrat, green party, communist, the party of shitfullness, Global Warming is happening, and it needs to be addressed. There is no question as to whether it is real. 0% of all scientists will tell you Global Warming is real, and it is human caused.



    I think you meant to say 100%, not 0%.
  • Reply 19 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aplnub


    I think you meant to say 100%, not 0%.



    right. :-). I was thinking of the statistic 0/10000 scientists think global warming is not real.
  • Reply 20 of 36
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icfireball


    I'm telling you... retirement should be the last thing we should be worried about right now. Thanks to the previous two generations, global warming will likely change the way we live, perhaps, in the way where we don't live. The most important thing about our future that we should be worrying about right now is slowing and ultimatly reversing global warming before it is to late.



    If you are interesting in finding out more about Global Warming,



    Here is a paper I wrote about it: http://www.uni.uiuc.edu/~ichamber/cuttingedge.pdf



    I suggest seeing the movie "The Inconvienient Truth" and/or reading the book (Same title, by Al Gore).



    Global Warming is not a partisan issue. I don't care if you republican, democrat, green party, communist, the party of shitfullness, Global Warming is happening, and it needs to be addressed. There is no question as to whether it is real. 100% of all scientists will tell you Global Warming is real, and it is human caused.



    Although I share your concern about global warming, I guarantee you Boomer retirement will hit you much sooner and with far greater impact than New York or Florida sinking underwater. The problem is, it's difficult to visualize a huge chunk of the world's population being removed from the work force and your taxes increasing to unmanageable levels to cover soaring medical bills, etc. It's more chic to show a polar bear fall off a shrinking ice floe and drowning to gain sympathy.
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