Retirement Perils
Lately I've been thinking about how my paternal grandparents lived in retirement. From the perspective of a young boy, my grandparents seemed to be living in near poverty. As an adult, I suspect that my retirement may look worse.
My grandfather worked for most of his life as a founder in a metal alloy mill. He was good enough at his work that management and engineers alike sought his advise to solve production problems. He was offered salary positions in the company but he remained an hourly worker because he thought his fourth grade education was insufficient.
My grandparents raised nine children on his wages, half of them raised during the Great Depression. My father related that no one ever showed up late at the dinner table because to do so would mean that you din't eat. It is remarkable that the children had a roof over their heads, clothing to cover themselves and a full belly every night when they went to bed. But my grandfather always provided for his eight boys and daughter.
When my grandfather retired, he and my grandmother purchased a small four room house in the lower middle class neighborhood where they raised their family. The living room just barely held the couch, a chair, a television and the big gas heater that dominated the room. The bedroom barely accommodated the full size bed, a chest and a nightstand. The kitchen table filled the center of the room while an ice box and wringer washer filled out one wall. No garage was necessary, as my grandfather never owned a car.
Although my grandfather worked for fifty years, he couldn't retire in the current understanding of the term.
His children took money to my grandparents every Friday to help them pay the bills. Pension and social security just wasn't enough to cover all the bills. My grandparents never amassed any savings as they spent everything he made raising nine children and helping grandchildren weather the Great Depression. They lived modestly for seventeen years before they died within two years of each other.
As I approach retirement age I have started to wonder what my retirement might look like. After 41 years of work I have three vested pensions, social security and modest savings. All of my savings are at risk of losing value in this crazy investment climate. Two of my pensions have been turned over to the government PBGC and are only viable if the federal government continues to fund them. Social security benefits are dubious with a federal government deep in debt with declining tax revenues.
My goal is to work until age 68 if my employer survives this Depression and will allow me to work that long. My retirement goals are simple, I want to own my home and cars while having some income to sustain a modest retirement. My over-riding concern is that my wife be able to stay in our home and be able to live modestly after I die.
My fear is that the economy won't recover and the government will default on all it's obligations, leaving us in poverty. Personal savings are no hedge against economic and government failure. My savings have lost a significant portion of their value several times in my lifetime. There is no guarantee that these savings will exist in the future.
Our house is three times larger than my grandparents, we have central heat and air conditioning and two bathrooms. We own two cars and have broadband internet connections. We have access to the best medical system in the world. We are living far better than my grandparents. But can we afford it all in retirement?
I'm thankful that I don't need vacation homes, travel and expensive consumer goods for happiness. These aren't my portion in this life. I have learned to live small the past ten years and am satisfied with my lot. But I don't want my wife to live in poverty in retirement, wanting for heat, cool, food, clothing and medicine. Especially, I don't want to burden my descendants with the burden of keeping us afloat until we go home to God.
Fear is the greatest peril in old age. I don't think my grandparents were afraid. I wonder if we will be so lucky.
My grandfather worked for most of his life as a founder in a metal alloy mill. He was good enough at his work that management and engineers alike sought his advise to solve production problems. He was offered salary positions in the company but he remained an hourly worker because he thought his fourth grade education was insufficient.
My grandparents raised nine children on his wages, half of them raised during the Great Depression. My father related that no one ever showed up late at the dinner table because to do so would mean that you din't eat. It is remarkable that the children had a roof over their heads, clothing to cover themselves and a full belly every night when they went to bed. But my grandfather always provided for his eight boys and daughter.
When my grandfather retired, he and my grandmother purchased a small four room house in the lower middle class neighborhood where they raised their family. The living room just barely held the couch, a chair, a television and the big gas heater that dominated the room. The bedroom barely accommodated the full size bed, a chest and a nightstand. The kitchen table filled the center of the room while an ice box and wringer washer filled out one wall. No garage was necessary, as my grandfather never owned a car.
Although my grandfather worked for fifty years, he couldn't retire in the current understanding of the term.
His children took money to my grandparents every Friday to help them pay the bills. Pension and social security just wasn't enough to cover all the bills. My grandparents never amassed any savings as they spent everything he made raising nine children and helping grandchildren weather the Great Depression. They lived modestly for seventeen years before they died within two years of each other.
As I approach retirement age I have started to wonder what my retirement might look like. After 41 years of work I have three vested pensions, social security and modest savings. All of my savings are at risk of losing value in this crazy investment climate. Two of my pensions have been turned over to the government PBGC and are only viable if the federal government continues to fund them. Social security benefits are dubious with a federal government deep in debt with declining tax revenues.
My goal is to work until age 68 if my employer survives this Depression and will allow me to work that long. My retirement goals are simple, I want to own my home and cars while having some income to sustain a modest retirement. My over-riding concern is that my wife be able to stay in our home and be able to live modestly after I die.
My fear is that the economy won't recover and the government will default on all it's obligations, leaving us in poverty. Personal savings are no hedge against economic and government failure. My savings have lost a significant portion of their value several times in my lifetime. There is no guarantee that these savings will exist in the future.
Our house is three times larger than my grandparents, we have central heat and air conditioning and two bathrooms. We own two cars and have broadband internet connections. We have access to the best medical system in the world. We are living far better than my grandparents. But can we afford it all in retirement?
I'm thankful that I don't need vacation homes, travel and expensive consumer goods for happiness. These aren't my portion in this life. I have learned to live small the past ten years and am satisfied with my lot. But I don't want my wife to live in poverty in retirement, wanting for heat, cool, food, clothing and medicine. Especially, I don't want to burden my descendants with the burden of keeping us afloat until we go home to God.
Fear is the greatest peril in old age. I don't think my grandparents were afraid. I wonder if we will be so lucky.
posted by lugh lampfhota at 7:08 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home