If they planned their working careers wisely, they have retired with a good Pension, Social Security, and an ample Savings Account they have built over the years. That's how I've been living without employment since 1998, when I retired from 37 years with Boeing. Hal
Not so fast, Hal! What about those Seniors that got laid-off from a job, the company they were working for closed and so on. Not all Seniors can be fortunate enough to work for a company for years and get a pension. There are Seniors that have to live off of SS and savings.
If everyone followed your advice, Hal, good luck getting an ambulance if you ever need one. Except for those that are operated by a city, very few ambulance companies have retirement plans. For that matter, even those who have retired with a retirement plan are not assured of being able to collect on it. I live in a paper mill town. When the mill went bankrupt, everyone who had retired from the company lost their pensions and the medical coverage that came with it. The town that I live in filed for bankruptcy protection shortly after the mill (which paid two-thirds of the town's tax revenue) went bankrupt. Retired town employees lost their retirement and medical benefits. They sued and lost. People don't tend to stay with one company long enough to retire anymore, anyhow, and if they wanted to, they'd probably be let go before they were vested in a retirement plan. Some of us have to work for a living.
I did about the same as you Hal. I worked 43 years in the same plant as a tool & die maker. I retired in 2007 and my income is more than we spend so still adding to savings. I agree with others though, that circumstances can alter even the best of plans.
I APOLOGIZE TO ALL OF YOU! What I should have said is all RETIRED seniors should not require employment! Please forgive my brash statement saying "Seniors should not need employment" . Hal
Hal, many RETIRED Seniors still only have SS and savings to support them. When staying with a company for years, a person has to put up with different things that they may want to put up with. Overtime hours, working nights, working for a manager/supervisor they really don't like or even a change of job with the company. After working in EMS/ambulance for a couple of years, I got tired of certain things, like, seeing injured folks, sleeping at the office/station (24 hr. shift) and working weekends. I went OJT into manufacturing, where only worked 8 hours, had holidays off/paid, weekends off and so on.
I don't think you have anything to apologize for. You brought up an issue that is certainly worth talking about. There was a time when most responsible people may have taken a few odd jobs before deciding on a career but then worked for one company for the bulk of their working lives, following their career path as far as they were able, retiring with benefits. I probably would have done that with the paper company but Champion closed its paper bag plants exactly one year before I became vested. Champion had a 10-year and a 20-year retirement plan but I was with them for only nine. Later, had I remained with the college, I might have ended up with a retirement plan, or I might have lost it all with the stock market crash. It's hard to tell. I don't think most companies want to keep the same people long enough for them to qualify for retirement, except maybe those who are at the top. Very few people remain at any one place long enough anymore. Today, people have to set up their own retirement programs, and it may or may not work out for them. Plus, there is a huge segment of the working population who never really think that far ahead. Suddenly, they look around and realize that they're old and it's too late now.
Ken, what you said about a large segment of the working population not planning for their retirement when they are young is sadly true. Many are able to set up a retirement program, but that New Car seems more important at the time. Hal
That was me, but I wasn't so much interested in things, as in doing things that I enjoyed doing. As I said, I probably would have stayed in the paper bag industry because it paid very well, and I mostly enjoyed the job. When that was pulled away, I went into EMS, which I loved doing, although I knew that it wasn't going to lead to large incomes, let alone a retirement plan.
What you seem to be overlooking, Hal, is the fact that things have changed in the job market since "your day." Many corporations are no longer providing the benefits packages and generous pension plans that many of us enjoyed. Wages are lower while costs of living creep higher making it harder to save. Many people scrape along the best they can, so just consider yourself lucky. Also consider these sage quotes: "Sh*t happens." "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." "The best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry."
I retired with a pension,social security, and an annuity. I still will take work once in a while. Sometimes when I am bored, sometimes because I want a particular toy that really shouldn't come out of our shared funds. I like operating equipment so right now I drive tractor or combine for the BTO up the road. Pay is per diem and I work as needed.
I didn't make a good enough salary, unfortunately for years, to be part of a retirement plan/401k. My fault, but my highest salary, (now don't laugh anyone) was $14.50 after working for a Senior Healthcare Company in Denver for 4 1/2 years. In 1982, I worked for an electronics company, in their stockroom, where my starting wage was $5.00 per hour. Does anyone offer a retirement plan anymore or is it just the 401k?
Do you mean 401k or the kind of retirement that places like Ford Motor Company, Boeing and others had. Wife and I know two men that retired with a full (nice) pension. One worked for the State of Pennsylvania and the other worked for Ford Motor Company in Detroit for numerous years.