What happens to people who saved nothing for retirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I plan on moving to the country of Georgia.

In 2055 I will still have an outstanding balance on my student loans and I will never pay it. Screw it all. I’m moving to a tiny village in the Caucasus Mountains and living off the land. My retirement savings should be enough to buy a cow and maybe a goat. If I get diagnosed with a serious illness I’ll just unalive myself by skydiving in a Soviet-era parachute or something, or falling off a cliff, at least I’ll go out doing something epic.

I have a friend who has rental properties in Batumi, I am sure she would be happy to have you.
Also you can run up the CC debt, just pay the minimums!
I like your plan

[Anonymous]

My plan is to move back to my home country and live on SS.
The problem is that I will probably need to visit from time to time… but I’ll figure it out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I plan on moving to the country of Georgia.

In 2055 I will still have an outstanding balance on my student loans and I will never pay it. Screw it all. I’m moving to a tiny village in the Caucasus Mountains and living off the land. My retirement savings should be enough to buy a cow and maybe a goat. If I get diagnosed with a serious illness I’ll just unalive myself by skydiving in a Soviet-era parachute or something, or falling off a cliff, at least I’ll go out doing something epic.

I have a friend who has rental properties in Batumi, I am sure she would be happy to have you.
Also you can run up the CC debt, just pay the minimums!
I like your plan

It is in my financial interest that Georgia never be fully occupied or at war with Russia, but remains just enough under threat that it doesn’t become the next big destination and go up in COL; that it remains in the status quo of begging for foreigners and desperately trying to be Europe but never actually being admitted into the club. This way my couple hundred thousand in USD will be just enough to buy property and gain permanent residence there and just chill. I’ll buy my cow and goat, live off khachapuri and homemade chacha. If I ever get cancer or something horrible I’ll just sacrifice myself to the mountain gods and call it a day.

I’m only half joking and half drunk while I write this. Either way sounds like a better future than living on the streets in poverty in America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing. 60 and divorced. Working and earn 40k salary. I hope to inherit at least 2M from my parents (healthy and mid 80’s now). That’s all I can hope for. And I suppose I will collect my ex husband SS if he dies before me. (Married 25 years).

You should be able to collect half your ex-husband's SS benefit when you retire, if 50% of his is more than 100% of yours.

[Anonymous]

Lots of ideas for support here:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/living-only-on-social-security-can-be-difficult-these-resources-can-help.html

[Anonymous]

Some of you need to learn personal finance and investing. I finally made over $40k last year after working for 25 years.
Looking at my SS statement, 20 years I made under $20k and only four years a little over $20k.
I'm retiring at 50, because I am a master of budgeting and investing. I find personal finance exciting and rewarding. Knowing where every penny goes is the reason I have been able to survive and thrive on so little.
I can go to the store with $50 and come back as if I spent $100 (without stealing anything).
I usually get $400 a year back in cash from CC. This feeds me for several months. My last investment made 30 percent in one month. I saw the dip in price and pick it up. I don't really even need to work anymore as investment income has taken over by now; I did all that on that very low income.
I have so many ideas how to make money/save money that I'm fine making so little now at work. The way it even came about was that I worked 12-hour shifts for minimum pay and I could see that I cannot continue like that forever.
While I do have a better paying job now, the years of working long hours with little pay, taught me a lot. Had I been able to go to school and got a decent job, I probably would have upgraded my life, maxed out the 401k, and do what most people do and work til 62-67.
I probably would have never bothered to look into investing on my own or budgeting or being frugal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing. 60 and divorced. Working and earn 40k salary. I hope to inherit at least 2M from my parents (healthy and mid 80’s now). That’s all I can hope for. And I suppose I will collect my ex husband SS if he dies before me. (Married 25 years).

You should be able to collect half your ex-husband's SS benefit when you retire, if 50% of his is more than 100% of yours.

Wonder why that pp is working

[Anonymous]

For most people living paycheck to paycheck at Min wage or slightly above, SSI is basically income replacement. They do fine and basically maintain status quo. Often their families doing better because they can now be available to provide care to grandchildren.

It’s families making 100-300k that need to be careful and may be in for a rude awakening. Those families need to make sure house paid off and no significant debts. They have option to move to lower cost of living location to payoff any debts with home equity and scale down their lifestyle to live on SSI. It will a be hard adjustment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For most people living paycheck to paycheck at Min wage or slightly above, SSI is basically income replacement. They do fine and basically maintain status quo. Often their families doing better because they can now be available to provide care to grandchildren.

It’s families making 100-300k that need to be careful and may be in for a rude awakening. Those families need to make sure house paid off and no significant debts. They have option to move to lower cost of living location to payoff any debts with home equity and scale down their lifestyle to live on SSI. It will a be hard adjustment.

This was my thinking too. Its the high earners living like there is no tomorrow that are in for a rude awakening. $5k/month in social security isn't going to keep them in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live next to an apartment complex full of seniors and most of them are foreigners.
I’ve made a friend there and according to her they all live very frugally, their housing is 30% of their SSI, they get free groceries and meals delivered, and they save and leave cash to their kids. I think some of the income is their home care support hours where they get kickbacks from whoever acts as their caretaker (sometimes it’s their kids). I also think their kids help them out a bit.

Yep, that's how my father lived (minus the kickbacks, although I know exactly what you are talking about). But living that way requires a certain level of resourcefulness which for most native born Americans would mean they'd have $$$ saved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have nothing. 60 and divorced. Working and earn 40k salary. I hope to inherit at least 2M from my parents (healthy and mid 80’s now). That’s all I can hope for. And I suppose I will collect my ex husband SS if he dies before me. (Married 25 years).

You should be able to collect half your ex-husband's SS benefit when you retire, if 50% of his is more than 100% of yours.

Wonder why that pp is working

I’m the PP. why are you wondering why I’m still working?? What else am I supposed to do?

[Anonymous]

PP would be a fool not to take 1/2 he ex's social security if its more than hers. She is eligible the day she turns 62, regardless of what her ex spouse chooses to. The only thing that would disqualify her is remarrying.

[Anonymous]

I’m the PP. can I take half his SS and still keep working?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're heading in a few decades toward a situation where there will be many homeless elderly people on the streets, man and women. No one will bat an eye, either. These homeless elderly people either had no children, or didn't value developing strong, close, positive relationships with their children, and are now navigating old age all alone. If you don't have the money, you'll end up on the streets. Elderly care is expensive.

No, we have social programs for elderly people to provide them with a basic standard of living.

Lol, we can't even house our homeless. How the hell do you think we'll have enough beds for all of them when they're old PLUS all the currently housed middle-aged people who will become elderly and too unwell to work and will need housing? Your math isn't mathing.

Taxes. We're not, as a nation, going to let mentally stable elderly people go homeless.

Let's bet on this. If you're wrong, I get to come live at your house, okay? See ya in 35 years, roomie!

I’m the PP. I’m not betting on this. I’ve maxed out my 401k since my first real job @ 22. I do think it’s unlikely we’ll ever remove our safety net for older Americans, and I’m fine with paying taxes to provide it.

What safety net? Besides Medicare and crappy nursing home if you have no money? SS is something you pay into, if you don't pay in (or spouse didn't) you don't collect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For most people living paycheck to paycheck at Min wage or slightly above, SSI is basically income replacement. They do fine and basically maintain status quo. Often their families doing better because they can now be available to provide care to grandchildren.

It’s families making 100-300k that need to be careful and may be in for a rude awakening. Those families need to make sure house paid off and no significant debts. They have option to move to lower cost of living location to payoff any debts with home equity and scale down their lifestyle to live on SSI. It will a be hard adjustment.

This was my thinking too. Its the high earners living like there is no tomorrow that are in for a rude awakening. $5k/month in social security isn't going to keep them in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

Most high earners are saving in 401k/IRAs. they will have much more than SS check