Search This Blog


  •  

Our Guest Blogger

  • Jane Allerton is an innovative marketing professional with global experiences in the pharmaceutical, engineered materials and IT industries. In her work, she has been able to combine her technical strengths with human form factor and ergonomic studies. Jane earned her dual BA in Chemistry and German from Rutgers as well as her MBA after an expatriate assignment in Germany. She has also worked in Paris.

Monster Blogroll

Del.icio.us Links

Join the People List

Get this Blog

About Comments

  • Comments are moderated; they should appear on the Monster Blog within one business day.

Disclaimer

  • Although the Monster Blog contains several individual voices, it is still part of Monster, and use of the blog is governed by Monster's Terms of Use. By viewing and/or contributing articles or comments to the Monster Blog, you agree to Monster's Terms of Use.

Feedback

Legal Stuff

« Universal Health Coverage: A Real-Life Reality Check | Main | Do You Support Your Office All-Stars? »

July 09, 2007

Saving for Retirement (as a Gen-Yer)?

Last night I caught a piece on “60 Minutes” featuring David Walker, the head of the Government Accountability Office. The segment was about his Fiscal Wake-Up Tour: A campaign to alert the American people about the overspending of the federal government. Americans won’t see the adverse effects of the growing deficit immediately, but unless we start addressing the problem now, Walker foresees federal bankruptcy by 2040, leaving our grandchildren with a large pile of irreversible debt. 

This got me thinking about my personal finances. Walker’s message speaks directly to the need for imminent results among Americans. Thirty-three years down the line bears no relevance to our daily lives, so why focus on it? 

In a little more than 40 years, I will (hopefully) be approaching retirement. And if what Walker says is true, the money I’ll need to live comfortably certainly won’t be coming from Uncle Sam.  So, as someone in her early 20s, I should probably start saving now.

Considering a third of US workers between the ages of 45 to 55 and half of workers between the ages of 35 to 44 have less than $25,000 saved for retirement, starting to save early seems wise. But with all the other expenses people my age have to worry about, like paying off student loans and financing graduate school, putting aside even more money for retirement can be overwhelming, and often becomes a low priority. But with a little guidance, it can be done. 

So I’m not retiring tomorrow. But Walker wants us to think ahead and see the big picture -- so someday many years from now, tomorrow can mean long-earned financial security for us and our children. 

For more on saving for retirement, check out these Monster resources:

Related Blogs

Share this post: Digg, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Bookmark and Share

Posted by Brooke on July 9, 2007 at 12:47 PM in The Daily Grind | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834515e7c69e200e0098f6e018833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Saving for Retirement (as a Gen-Yer)?:

Comments

I was born in 1964, which puts me in either Gen-X or Gen-Y (and in some charts, a baby boomer!).

Regardless the label, when I was 17 I realized that the entire Social Security plan was little more than a legalized Ponzi scheme.

The sooner people end the misconception that "Uncle Sam" will take of us, the better they (and the rest of the nation, in fact) will be.

Posted by: Charlie on the PA Turnpike | Jul 9, 2007 1:33:46 PM

Your remark about not being able to save because of debt is right on target. Most people do not save for retirement because of other pressing issues.

The matter of the fact is that pressing issues are ALWAYS there! Therefore, the solution is to actually do both: Pay off debt while saving for retirement. Even a little bit saved today makes a huge difference 10 or 20 years from now.

Posted by: Felipe | Jul 11, 2007 9:21:09 PM

I grew up in the 80's and having recently started a career in the insurance and financial services industry, I've had a proverbial fire lit under me as it relates to retirement and estate planning.

I think the big problem is that so many people, especially in their 20s (and in some cases as late as their early 30s) don't see things like planning for retirement as an essential priority. So many of my contemporaries say to me, "Hey, I'm still paying off my college loans... Why do I have to start thinking about that kinda stuff now? I wanna by a new car, get a nice condo - live off the fruits of my labor before I have to settle down and get married, have kids, etc." All reasonable points, but when you consider how much later people are having to work (some estimates from the Department of Labor indicate that workers are working into their 60s and 70s because they can't afford to retire) just to earn enough to survive - and that's only if they are in fairly good health at the time of retirement: If you factor in the cost for things like healthcare, childcare, etc. it just extends the curve... The real truth is that one can never start to plan too early!

I'm of the opinion that teaching the skills necessary to become financially secure should be a part of curricula as early as high school. Just like college preparation and health education - no American child should graduate from high school w/o some basic knowledge of crucial, hard facts about money and financial security. Without those skills, all the education in the world won't save us...

Posted by: Tim Hughes | Aug 7, 2007 10:11:04 AM

As a person ending his work life all I can say is make no more excuses and do it. If you are in a job that offers a 401K. Max it out if you can. I started very late, but I started. I will likely have enough in a couple more years. If I had started when i was 35, i ould be sailing the Med right now. Also if your company offers matching funds, you are leaving money on the table every month and it is money you have earned and your company is willing to pay. DOOOO ITTTT!

Posted by: Jerry | Aug 10, 2007 11:37:06 AM

Hi everybody. As I am also approaching retirement I have done a lot of research on this subject. I believe that everybody should have good information therefore I have come up with a free report about The Missing Ingredient That Will Supercharge
Your Retirement – And 92% of People Don’t Know About It!

Posted by: Tom Jones | Dec 6, 2007 1:38:42 PM

A few years ago it seemed like retirement was a long ways off. We both had good jobs, a 401K, and felt like we had time to save enough to retire comfortably. How quickly time has passed. Both of our retirement funds have lost money and the future looks grim. We have decided needed a plan B that would continue to bring in money to supplement our savings. Instead of relying solely on social security and savings, we have decided to try our hand at network marketing. It took several tries to realize that not every network marketing opportunity provides the kind of security we are looking for. A lot of them only wanted to take our money and offered nothing but hot air in return. Even though we are both computer “literate”, network marketing is a like entering a new job, and we realized we needed the support and help of a good, honest team to be a success. We have learned some really neat ways to market the five opportunities we have chosen. One of the first lessons we have learned is network marketing is just like any other job and requires hard work, time, and patience.

Posted by: Sheldon Vik | May 28, 2008 3:00:38 PM

Saving money to have a better retirement life is almost a dream in most of our life. Different set of expenditure is always waiting before us every month. Better planning and getting guidance from other financial experts will enable us to achieve it.

Retirement plans,retirement planning calculator, retirement planning, early retirement planning, retirement savings, retirement investments, financial planning for retirement, saving for retirement, retirement income, retirement funds.

Posted by: RetireDebtFreeHappy | Oct 15, 2008 10:26:32 PM

Post a comment