Retreat! Part 2
28/9/11 16:02![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Cross-posted to Google+
Melinda, the adviser at ING who manages the deferred compensation portfolio for my employer (and who is therefore very busy helping hundreds of us late Baby Boomers prepare to retire), is a sharp, savvy woman.
The last guy I went to was at least fifteen years my junior. His office featured studio portraits of his lovely wife and several handsome matching kids, as well as prominent insignia of his religious convictions. I'm not sure he could actually see the likes of me, and he certainly couldn't see my point of view on life any better than I could see his. His financial advice, unsurprisingly, bore little relationship to my wishes and none to my strengths or talents.
Melinda, on the other hand, said, "Yeah, you work [in the World's Tallest Basement] for twenty, twenty-five years, and that's it, you've had it, you're burnt out. And yet you're still active, fit and healthy, and you want to enjoy life while it's still enjoyable."
Well, yes, Melinda. That's it exactly. Thanks for sayin'.
I don't have final figures yet, and nobody's pretending that I'll be able to retire like a queen. Unlike so many Americans, however, I have a retirement fund, and I have access to a full coverage health plan whose monthly premium will be no more than the rent on a modest apartment.
So really, all I have to do is scale back by one modest rent, and retirement is within my sights!
Melinda, the adviser at ING who manages the deferred compensation portfolio for my employer (and who is therefore very busy helping hundreds of us late Baby Boomers prepare to retire), is a sharp, savvy woman.
The last guy I went to was at least fifteen years my junior. His office featured studio portraits of his lovely wife and several handsome matching kids, as well as prominent insignia of his religious convictions. I'm not sure he could actually see the likes of me, and he certainly couldn't see my point of view on life any better than I could see his. His financial advice, unsurprisingly, bore little relationship to my wishes and none to my strengths or talents.
Melinda, on the other hand, said, "Yeah, you work [in the World's Tallest Basement] for twenty, twenty-five years, and that's it, you've had it, you're burnt out. And yet you're still active, fit and healthy, and you want to enjoy life while it's still enjoyable."
Well, yes, Melinda. That's it exactly. Thanks for sayin'.
I don't have final figures yet, and nobody's pretending that I'll be able to retire like a queen. Unlike so many Americans, however, I have a retirement fund, and I have access to a full coverage health plan whose monthly premium will be no more than the rent on a modest apartment.
So really, all I have to do is scale back by one modest rent, and retirement is within my sights!
(no subject)
1/10/11 00:09 (UTC)This is the single most powerful cause of the decline of the American economic engine, in my opinion: nothing stifles creativity and innovation like the fear of leaving your entrenched job, and nothing makes people more afraid to leave their job than the prospect of not being able to afford healthcare.
I can totally see how this would be so.
(no subject)
1/10/11 00:15 (UTC)1. Iraq
2. Afghanistan
3. Corporate welfare
(no subject)
1/10/11 00:35 (UTC)(no subject)
1/10/11 00:32 (UTC)emeraldsedai: is the $700/mo. just COBRA, though? Because then after 18 months you'll need individual coverage. And if they say they provide retiree health coverage, it is perfectly legal--and frequently happens--for them to later say, "Hey, we changed our minds, we're going to reduce or eliminate our contribution."
FWIW, I'm 58 so several years older than you are, and I pay about $9,000 a year for an HMO with a $100 emergency room deductible, $30 copay for a physician visit, and a $300/day hospital copay.
(no subject)
1/10/11 00:35 (UTC)Your plan sounds pretty reasonable. But isn't it crazy that we think that's reasonable?
(no subject)
1/10/11 00:44 (UTC)I'm in a constant state of Grump because I need $20k a year just to pay my real estate taxes and health insurance, and that's before I pay any *income* taxes or, you know, pay the gas bill or go to yard sales or buy food.
(no subject)
1/10/11 22:54 (UTC)Also, my particular property taxes are controlled--my dumpy little house is in a dumpy little neighborhood "enterprise zone" and capped taxes have contributed significantly to the diversity of home ownership around here, so it's a good place for me to just stay.
(no subject)
1/10/11 00:46 (UTC)tehomet: Awww, they'll see you in an emergency room if you don't have insurance, but then they'll send you a whacking great bill and possibly foreclose on your mortgage (unless they have to get in line behind the bank).
Oh, lovely! And then once foreclosed upon, since in the US there's, from what I hear, no safety net (little or no homeless services and feck all social welfare), one can look forward to living on the pavement. Or sidewalk. Or whatever. Nice.
I've actually been to the States a fair few times and it is always unsettling seeing the huge prevalence of homeless people. In the richest country in the world!
(no subject)
1/10/11 00:50 (UTC)(no subject)
1/10/11 22:42 (UTC)(no subject)
1/10/11 22:46 (UTC)There are no human beings left in the American workforce, just automatons. That's the perception and the goal, as far as I can tell.
We are the richest country in the world because we have a very small number of people and corporations who have unimaginable wealth and are the bullies in the playground who aren't gonna share no matter what.
I'd honestly leave if I could.