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So You Want To Retire? Five Disturbing Statistics About Retirement: An Infographic

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/11/2013 19:52 -0400

To all Americans in their twenties, thirties, forties, or even fifties, naively looking forward to their retirement, we have two words: "good luck."

One look at the flow chart below and we can't help but wonder: just how many Americans actually follow the "plan" of what they should do to prepare for retirement. A million? Two? Less? And how soon before the government decides it knows what's best for everyone in this particular touchy topic - because since the US welfare system is now hopelessly broken and unsustainable, then the retirement "option" for virtually everyone is a non-starter - and begins imposing behavioral mandates, not to mention taxes, to "steer" the population into the proper "avenues" and "channels"?

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Sat, 01/12/2013 - 00:00 | 3146464 Gift Whores

Retirement??? YOU didn't earn that!

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 00:01 | 3146467 taketheredpill

In Your 50s: Cut Off Your Grown Kids

In Your 60s: Move To A Cheaper Locale and Leave No Forwarding Address. Mobile Home is Ideal.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 00:15 | 3146479 Yen Cross

Future "slum lord"

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 04:54 | 3146731 JuicedGamma

Double wide baby.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 00:17 | 3146481 tyler

Throw names around? Pig this them that stop being a hater. What if a government "pig" as you so intelligently label them is able to retire at 45 with more silver than most. The only way to survive and profit is to think outside the box. You guys get caught up on being stuck. At 31 I have the best of both worlds earned everything I have and havent got up to an alarm clock or had an employer since 2007. I could show your daughters and wives the the time of their lives without a sip of alcohol. Have a good year fellas. Happy hanukah and merry christmas.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 11:28 | 3146966 hooligan2009

don't gloat..tell us how you did it

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 12:17 | 3147029 Vooter

"Pig this them that stop being a hater."

Who knew that Lewis Carroll was a ZH reader?

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 00:44 | 3146524 alfbell

Stacking gold isn't gonna be any help for anyone's "retirement".

Here is an opinion that makes sense to me that there will not be hyperinflation and stacking gold is not a solution.

http://armstrongeconomics.com/the-taxman-cometh/

The Weimar Republic and Zimbabwe did not have bond markets. The USA has the biggest one ever and the bond vigilantes will keep The Fed from printing out of control.

High inflation, stagflation and deflation all happening at different times and in different areas of the economy is what I think we will be dealing with, buy never hyper-inflation.

Cash/money will still be good for quite awhile and economic volatility and crises will continue to push people to fly to USD and treasuries, thus keeping the USD up and working as the reserve currency. We'll be using cash and then we'll go to all electronic money (symbolic of cash).

You retirees ain't gonna be paying your rent, your groceries, your car payments, your gas, your electric bill, your doctor/dentist bills, your taxes, etc. etc. etc. with gold of silver.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 12:13 | 3147023 Vooter

"You retirees ain't gonna be paying your rent, your groceries, your car payments, your gas, your electric bill, your doctor/dentist bills, your taxes, etc. etc. etc. with gold of silver."

So...gold and silver will suddenly become worthless? No one will give you cash for your gold or silver? I'm not getting your point, if there is one...

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 23:47 | 3148167 moonstears

As I understand ...this Armstrong guy was just a super smartie economist, he worked for the Govt, fucked any woman he desired, succeded in all endeavors, it all turned to "gold" for him. Then he goes to prison for helping some Japanese, which they took as fraud and he was in prison, for some time in solitary, no food or water, eating mannah, but somehow getting out a newsletter, telling us to buy gold and etc. Now he's "free" and we need to NOT buy gold. Hmmmnnnmmnn? I too think he's smart, and interesting in some of his economic ideas. I also think he's quite full of shit! Take it with a grain of salt 99.99q252% of the time.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 00:59 | 3146545 Schmuck Raker

Really Tyler: "Two words...Good Luck"?!?

I can do it in one word: "EMIGRATE"

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 04:53 | 3146730 JuicedGamma

How much time have you spent overseas? I can't think of one place I'd like to be old and poor.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 11:26 | 3146963 hooligan2009

go bush! not george or merkin either

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 01:13 | 3146566 Yen Cross

Ok Gen "Y"....< I'm Gen X

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 01:15 | 3146570 Yen Cross

I'll bet you hate your parents? Am I wrong?

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 05:13 | 3146740 firestarter_916

Just become a cop or fireman and retire at 50 with nearly 100% of your salary and if somehow if you have a brain cell or two you retire as disabled and then your pension is tax free. That American Way.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 05:13 | 3146741 firestarter_916

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 07:13 | 3146786 10mm

Now a days,one never retires,they expire.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 07:59 | 3146808 rsnoble

They aren't worried about people's retirements, they're worried about where to get the next big bag of money for wallstreet.

My barber is 78 years old and is in a very small town. He's always been closed sundays and mondays. When I went to get my haircut this week his new hours state that he is closed tuesdays now also. That's his retirement. No kidding.

For most people you will just work till you drop. Then Obamacare will put you to sleep like a dog. Might consider putting that BigMac down.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 08:01 | 3146809 rsnoble

Oh but don't forget to keep sending that $4k yearly check to the courthouse so you can fund their retirement.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 08:17 | 3146813 egoist

401K? The investments are not generally ZH-friendly, and how confident are any of us that they won't be nationalized?

Budget? Just like the government? How do you plan anything when the units of measure and the ground are moving around below you?

I do like the "cut your kids off", might as well. I expect they (all of the 'kids') will cut us (all of the 'retired') off, rightly.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 09:33 | 3146862 Tombstone

I thought that Obama's Marxist version of income redistribution and excessive taxation of the rich would provide me with a comfortable retirement. Have I been wrongly tricked into thinking that there will be no welfare state for me to retire to?

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 11:24 | 3146962 hooligan2009

you will be in a state and you will need welfare...problem?

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 11:02 | 3146944 media_man

For the 50's, "locking in long term care" and exploit "catch up provisions" seems like a tall order. If you can do one or the other, you are in better shape than 95% of the population. If you invest in a 401k at all, you are in better shape than most. Long term care insurance was @ $700 per month for my wife & I, money we didn't have (we're paying $10K per year in current h/c costs while socking away $20k per year in 401k payments).

My plan is to move to Panama or Ecuador & if I need long term care, I'll pay cash locally there.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 12:04 | 3147012 QQQBall

My buddy's parents share at an Assisted Living facility. $6,700 a month.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 12:02 | 3147010 moneybots

There is a Walmart commercial in which a family has a monthly smart phone bill of 416 dollars a month. The parents are spending their chance at retirement on smart phone bills instead.

Any more, what difference does it make if anyone saved a dime for retirement? The stock market has crashed twice, bonds don't earn anything and the government has a debt of 16 trillion and counting, to rob people of whatever they have saved/invested through taxation.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 16:51 | 3147488 roadhazard

Anyone that's got a hundred dollar a month phone bill deserves to be broke. Shut the fuck up, you fucking moron.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 12:06 | 3147015 My Days Are Get...

The main point is good - not enough savings.

The rest of the article is too complicated.

To survive well:

Stay healthy

Get out of debt

Stay out of debt

Build savings in a way that make sense to you

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 13:17 | 3147097 HamFistedIdiot

No one is saving because "everyone" thinks the government is going to save them. We have, what?, 50 million people on food stamps, and another 50 million who are on the government payroll? That's what? half of working-aged people expecting tax revenues and Chinese purchases of T-Bills to keep the lights on? Who is fooling who? I know the economic situation for private enterprise in the US sucks (and will worsen), but that doesn't absolve people from the sin of not looking hard at reality and planning accordingly (accumulating tangible assets, living frugally, building resilient communities, and becoming more independent of the system in every way possible)

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 13:47 | 3147155 IridiumRebel

buy land

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 14:54 | 3147298 Peter Pan

The day will come when governments will offer 65 year old retirees a payment of say $80,000 in return for agreeing to be euthanased at 66. Worse still, they might even offer $50,000 to the families which will make it impossible for many to refuse.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 16:48 | 3147473 roadhazard

You should only worry about retirement IF you get close. In my circle of tight friends (seven of us) only me and one more remain. The rest died in there 40's and 50's of stuff like pancreatic cancer, heart attacks and accidents. I made it but with Type2 and my friend has a stint. It ain't about the money anymore. No one gets out alive.

Sat, 01/12/2013 - 21:43 | 3147948 Downtoolong

In your 70’s,

By now you should realize that no matter how much money you have, it may not be enough to get you through because of manipulative and abusive monetary actions of the Fed, Government, and Wall Street.

Take all your wealth, buy gold and hide it somewhere where they can’t find it, tax it, devalue it, or use any countless number ways they have devised to steal it from you. If they ask you what happened to all your wealth, tell them you lost it in a crap game.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 11:08 | 3150531 bxy

This is retirement failure planning......."Contribute to your 401(k)?, Rebalance your portfolio?" Of what? Who says those investments will perform well?

"Cut off your kids?....Downsize your house?" So plan for retirement of scarcity? How about do it properly and put yourself in a position for an abundant retirement? They are recommending locking in failure now.......thanks brokerage industry.

Mon, 01/14/2013 - 12:59 | 3150918 Orange Pekoe

I plan to retire to a hyperinflating country. Maybe it will time right for me to retire in the US.

So You Want To Retire? Five Disturbing Statistics About Retirement: An Infographic

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