New? The only generation that didn’t HAVE TO was the one that benefited from FDR’s socialism. Every generation, before and after, has had no true safety net.
I quit my corporate middle management job a few years ago and went to work for my local municipality. I make less money but should be able to retire at 62 with about 50% of my highest three year base pay coming to me as pension. I will still qualify for full SSI benefits (provided that’s still a thing). My wife will continue to get half of my pension if I die first, and vice-versa since she’s also a city worker. I feel like we’re a lot better off now than we were before.
People underestimate govt jobs because nobody ever got rich doing them so everyone thinks the pay is shit. Its actually pretty good, benefits are good, its really hard to get fired if you genuinely try to do the job well, and usually a pretty strong union presence.
Don’t forget pandemic, war, or economy proof. Services are needed no matter what’s going on.
From the article:
“About one-third said they’d tapped their 401(k) or other retirement plan for a loan, early withdrawal or a hardship withdrawal, a share that Transamerica described as “concerning.””
I love how the reaction to massive amounts of people giving up their shot at retirement to fund an emergency is that it’s “concerning”. Yeah, I’d say that’s not a good thing either, lol. Just love this sterile language they use to cover the horror
One more from the article: “However, as a departure from long-standing notions, the middle class does not see retirement and work as being mutually exclusive.”
I can’t help but read this more like: “as the grip of corporate titans continues to crush the populous, many have taken to a new coping mechanism: delusions.”
I mean really, that’s what they’re saying–let’s redefine retirement from “not working because you worked all your life and finally earned your place in society for the remainder of your days, finally able to enjoy the fruits of your labor” to “well i mean, you can still get out of bed and see well enough to drive (sort of) and cancer hasn’t managed to claim you yet either–be here at 8AM tomorrow grandma, these jeans aren’t gonna fold themselves”, oh yeah and everything costs more now and requires the Internet and a monthly subscription. And they’re spying on you every possible way they can. Yeah, this is a future I’m looking forward to 🤣
It’s been that way for a while. That’s one of the reasons we have had such a job crunch and stagnating advancement over the last couple decades. All the old folks decided to hang on to their jobs. A multitude of reasons why - loss of defined benefit, inflation, multiple market crashes, rising health costs (probably one of the biggest reasons), inflation, etc.
It’s just that now the financial bar needing to be met to retire is being pushed even higher, and I’d bet that rising health care costs, housing costs, and inflation are the same reasons for people sticking around.
IMO the boomers were some the last people to actually get a fair shot at retirement. For the rest of us it’s just sheer luck if you make it.
