I suppose the real question is: "How come after almost 50 years of work it doesn't seem possible for most people to put enough aside for a comfortable retirement?" Harry ****************************** Henry George School of Los Angeles Box 655 Tujunga CA 91042 (818) 352-4141 ****************************** From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2011 6:42 AM To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION Subject: Re: [Futurework] Saving for retirement? In the following posting I ignore the possibility of investing the money instead of just putting it aside as savings. That could make a difference though at $10 or $100 probably not enough to make a real difference. Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: Ed Weick <mailto:[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2011 9:19 AM Subject: [Futurework] Saving for retirement? Pensions have had a lot of exposure in the media recently. On last night's CBC news economist Amanda Lang and another lady, an expert on pensions, were sitting at a table in a shopping mall advising anyone who cared to ask what they should do to provide for their retirement. It was a bit ironic because many of the people in the mall probably had nothing to retire from - like a job. What Lang and the pension guru told people was something like "Put away a fixed amount every month, even if it's only ten dollars, and let it build up." Hmm.... $10 a month is only $120 a year and only $3,600 in thirty years in current terms. Is that enough to retire on? Hardly. And even if one were putting away $100 a month, or $36,000 in thirty years, would that be enough? Probably only if one died in the thirty-first year. The pension problem got me thinking about an article in yesterday's Globe and Mail. It was called "Full House" and was about an increasing trend of multi-generational families living together. Its subtext said it all: "Kids in the basement, grandparents upstairs or in laneway homes out back..." I guess that would be OK if everybody in the family got along, but most families aren't like that. What if my mother-in-law moved in? Where would I go? Probably way down the basement behind the furnace. And besides, would there be enough earnings or pensions in the house to permit the family to make a go of it? One would hope so, but given current and probably continuing uncertainties in the job market, its an open question. Ed
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