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Looks Like 40% Will Never Retire

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The recent study, “Working in Retirement”,  from  the Society of Actuaries says that a third of adults do not expect to retire. A third is a lot. There are 76 million Baby Boomers… 1/3 = 25 million folks that will be hanging around.

This number is up 29% from two yeas ago and the increase is significant. More than 4 in 10 say that they cannot retire because they need the bucks and, in many cases, the employer benefits.

Uncertainty – about life-expectancy and the money required to also plays a major role in per-retirement planning.

“Current trends in retirement indicate that people may need to work longer than they originally planned,” said actuary and retirement expert Carol Bogosian, ASA. “Individuals often have a difficult time estimating how long they can expect to live, how much they will earn on their investments and how much they can spend each year to avoid running out of money. In fact, many people are just guessing about how much money they will need in retirement.”

 

How To Get Your Book On The Shelf Of America’s Largest Bookstore In 15 Minutes

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The move from CD’s to digital music downloads; newspapers to online papers; cameras to smart phones; bricks & mortar colleges to online EDU; Best Buy to online book stores, etc. has been amazing to watch. Of course, Amazon has been a leader in this space and I am using them to publish my eBook (which is free today right here.)

This move from 3D to digital, known as disintermediation or dematerialization,  is one of the reasons that I could have my book move from concept to eBook and now paperback in three months. The paperback part has been very cool especially my use of the Espresso machine. No, not the coffee but the instant Espresso Book Machine. As Espresso says: “Books Printed In Minutes At Point Of Sale. For Immediate Pick Up Or Delivery.” By using this machine, I went from walking in the front door at Powell’s (America’s largest book store that’s right here in Portland) to having a paperback on their shelf in 20 minutes. The machine is like a big Xerox machine that took my file off of a thumb drive and printed a glossy 4-color cover, the inside pages and then bound the book at the press of a button.

15 minutes from PDF files to a printed book. Wow!

 

Did We Screw It For The 30 Year Olds?

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When I started writing Boomercide: From Woodstock To Suicide, I didn’t really think beyond my own retirement fears. As I dug into the retirement savings deficit issue, I realized that I was just one of millions, make that ten’s of millions, that did not think that they had saved enough. Of course, being, well, realistic, I have a plan based on controlling my life expectancy.

Here is some more fodder from the new report PEW Social and Demographic Trends:

“More Americans Worry about Financing Retirement. Adults in Their Late 30s Most Concerned”

“About four-in-ten adults (38%) say they are “not too” or “not at all” confident that they will have enough income and assets for their retirement,up from 25% in a Pew Research survey conducted in late February and March of 2009.”

29% to 38% is ENORMOUS!

-> But, it gets worse. Who is more worried? Retirement fears peak in the late 30’s. What the fuck did baby Boomers do to screw up our follow-on generation? Feeling good about yourselves? I’m not.

Where Can You Afford To Live? Global Cost Of Living.

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I was in New York recently. My NYC crew talks about how much things cost. I think its a big city thing. Jane’s one-bedroom in Long Island City is $1,750 a month (a deal, I think); Megan’s family’s apartment on Madison Avenue and 61st Street is in the millions; Brooklyn has gone from early gentrifiers to hipsters to Wall Streeters.

So where can most of us afford to live if we wanted to move to a new local? Portland, my home town, is 56% less expensive than New York according to the database site Expatistan.This is one of the reasons that Portland is now a destination for people looking for a more affordable lifestyle. Portland’s hip, affordable lifestyle is definitely on the minds of New Yorkers.

I lived in London for a few years as a salaried expat (the way to do it given that London is the fifth most expensive city in the world — and 70% more expensive than Portland.) In those days, my agency Saatchi & Saatchi covered our rent, gave me a cost of living increase,  paid any extra taxes and sent us all home once a year in business class. A good deal.

Today? I probably can’t do London on my dime but I do dream of living outside of the USA again. Visit Expatistan, check out a rage of global cost of living factoids and dream. Hyderabad, anyone?

Best Places To Retire (Really?)

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“Best Places to Retire” is one of those standard go-to magazine and website articles designed to capture the dreams of Baby Boomers. I get it. They  usually include a mix of criteria like cost-of-living; climate; the economy; health care; recreation and occasionally culture.

Me? I need culture. I need intellectual stimulation not another discussion about someone’s daily hike. Here is a story. I was crossing Broadway on New York’s upper west side a few years ago and stopped to talk with an elderly woman sitting on a bench on the strip that divided the roadway. I asked her why she lives in New York. She said, “I feel free because I can get anywhere on buses or hop in a cab; I can have food and wine delivered right to my door; I have hundreds of restaurants to choose from; the best bagels in the world; the best medical care; I am surrounded by people and energy; I can go to Lincoln Center, the opera, museums, plays all at a discount and people like you stop to talk. Why would I live anywhere else?” By the way, Selma had one big advantage… she lives in a rent control apartment.

You know what? New York is NEVER listed as a best place to live in these articles. Not in US News, Forbes, CNNMoney, CBS News or AARP. What’s up with this? I mean, does living in Utah sound enticing? Guess what? It makes some lists? Have you ever been to Provo? In the winter? Tried to buy a bagel?

OK, New York and a couple of other major cultural centers do make a list. In this case on a smart website from the Milkin Institute’s Best Cities for Successful Aging. Check it out.