Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Save more for retirement



The Motley Fool carried a shocking report the other day: more than 40% of Americans aren't saving anything for their retirement.

If you're a youngish person still working, there are two warning signs here for you.


If you're not already saving a whole lot more than six bits a week for your retirement, start now—you might live a long time after you stop working, you don't want to be poor.

If you're a youngish person still working, start beating the political bushes for government action to require higher Social Security tax payments from everyone who's working, because all those folks who aren't voluntarily saving for their retirement are going to want some kind of help when they do stop working.

Motley Fool notes that Americans are living longer, and they're not working as long as they did only a generation or two ago:

"The entire concept of retirement is unique to the late-20th century. Before World War II, most Americans worked until they died."

The widespread failure to put aside meaningful personal savings for retirement is a ticking time bomb. It's going to explode in our lifetimes.



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