Recession = No Retirement?
Posted on March 9th, 2009 – 6:02 PMBy Kara McGuire
This just in from a survey commissioned from ING Direct:Four in 10 Americans believe the current economic climate will force them to retire up to 10 years later than originally expected, or not at all.
There’s not a lot of detail in the release about how that sentiment breaks down by age — I’ll try to get more details and update soon. The survey of 1,223 adults was conducted in mid-Februrary and as I’m sure you know, things have taken a turn for the worse since then.
As someone in my early 30s, I figure I won’t retire until I am 70, if not later. A 30 year retirement period is not sustainable for most people today and I figure the likelihood of such a prolonged vacation is itty-bitty for my generation.
Given my age and my commitment to taking a long-term view, I doubt the events of the last 15 months will set me back a decade or prevent me from retiring at all. But I admit I haven’t run the numbers. That might just be too depressing. I’ll keep my head in the sand for another few months, thank you very much.
Is your retirement on track despite the downturn? Are you planning to retire with a smaller portfolio, or postpone the start of your golden years until things settle down? If you’re younger, like me, are you staying the course? Saving more? Less?
6 Responses to "Recession = No Retirement?"
I have made the mistake of checking my stock portfolio, 401k, etc over the past several months. It is a bit depressing. My stocks are 80% down from August with investing in a broad range. My retirement is down about 40% from August. I have real estate that I can’t even put numbers to…but with all that said, it is just a matter of realizing it is only numbers on paper/online and only becomes real if needing to sell or have sold. For anyone in the market who is in their late 20 or early 30s, there is plenty of time. I am 30. I am taking this time as an opportunity to research and buy when the time feels right. To be anything less than optimistic will only continue the self fulfilling downward spiral.
On-track…but will have a lower lifestyle…would rather vary lifestyle than date. You didn’t mention fact that this will negatively effect those in their 30’s due to fact that everyone in their 50’s will now be hanging on until the bitter end…
In my area - delayed retirement is putting 20 and 30 something’s jobs. I am in the school system and several teachers were planning to retire this year and are backing out because they can no longer afford it.
I don’t think that we will have a single teacher in my building under 30 next year. They will have all lost their jobs over the past 2 years. So the negative impact is happening right now in my field and many others.
I too am in my early 30s and consider myself on track for retiring between 60 and 62. I think our age bracket is actually poised to benefit from the current situation. I’m pouring money into the market in the hopes that I will be rewarded when the market does turn around. Fortunately, I’ve got 20 plus years for it to turn.
Relative to where we were 18 months ago, my wife and I are ‘behind’. But, at the time we were on track to retire early - in our mid 50s. We’ll turn 39 & 40 this year & are still saving as much as we can; like Erin, I view the down markets as a buying opportunity. As the economy recovers - which may take several years - equities we’re buying now will deliver very satisfactory returns. I suspect that in only 3 to 5 years we’ll be back on track for retirement before we turn 60.
I was, emphasis on past tense, 3 years from retirement when the downturn started in 2008. I had a reasonable mix of stocks and bonds for my age and risk tolerance. Unfortunately, both stocks and bond funds did so poorly over the past year + that I am currently still 3 years from retirement. I had intended to work or volunteer once I retired - I’m fairly sure the work without pay option is off the table.
I noted the comment about teachers - I taught for a few years and my daughter is a teacher. The job market for teacher’s has been horrible in the Twin Cities area. There have to be a lot of ex teachers or recent grads who do not have jobs in their field. Sad - new talent and the new energy young teachers bring to the classroom are important in that field.
