The U.S. is not alone in not saving for retirement

[buystoys]

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People in Europe, the USA and Australia could be sleepwalking into long-term saving and spending problems. That's the message from the latest ING International Survey which indicates that many of us are really worried about retirement, not least because we're having trouble making ends meet right now and finding extra cash to put aside for later is difficult for many.

Planning for retirement is no longer , saving now to live later. Our expectations of continuing to earn in retirement point to a new view of life after full-time work. We tend to focus on the present meaning that planning for the future can take a backseat, particularly for something as far in the distance as retirement. Future needs are less salient than others. But that is not the whole story. Many , don't earn enough to save. Here is where we stand today and how we might clarify retirement challenges by tapping into our sometimes quirky relationship with money.

ING recently did a survey to see if people globally are preparing for retirement. The results surprised me a bit. I've heard more than once that European workers save more than U.S. workers do. That led me to believe that they would be better prepared to retire. The responses were eye opening.

[zibazinski]

I always thought with the cradle to grave policy one didn’t need to worry about saving anything.

[gs11rmb]

Feb 22, 2019 5:25:26 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I always thought with the cradle to grave policy one didn’t need to worry about saving anything.

No.  I grew up in the UK and while people can survive on pensions it's not going to be a luxurious life.  One huge advantage over the US, however, is not having to worry about paying for medical care out of pocket.

[mroped]

Retirement? What’s that?
What do you do with your time when you retire?(that’s just an honest question!)

[giramomma]

Feb 22, 2019 9:30:50 GMT -5 mroped said:

Retirement? What’s that?
What do you do with your time when you retire?(that’s just an honest question!)

Volunteer.
Enjoy hobbies.

Enjoy my spouse.
Enjoy my grandkids.
Have friends.
Spend time on my yard so it doesn't look like white trash live in our house.

Spend time doing things like repainting our house. Or doing anything other than needed repairs/maintence (like replacing a leaking water heater).

Watch tv more than one hour every couple of weeks

Read a book. Reading one book every 5 years isn't exactly great.

Sleep. Sleeping 4-5 hours for years gets old.

Use the bathroom by myself for however long I want.

Working two jobs (one full, one part time), having four kids teen to toddler, and being in grad school part time doesn't allow for much in the way of anything else.

[bean29]

Feb 22, 2019 10:56:56 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Feb 22, 2019 9:30:50 GMT -5 mroped said:

Retirement? What’s that?
What do you do with your time when you retire?(that’s just an honest question!)

Volunteer.
Enjoy hobbies.

Enjoy my spouse.
Enjoy my grandkids.
Have friends.
Spend time on my yard so it doesn't look like white trash live in our house.

Spend time doing things like repainting our house. Or doing anything other than needed repairs/maintence (like replacing a leaking water heater).

Watch tv more than one hour every couple of weeks

Read a book. Reading one book every 5 years isn't exactly great.

Sleep. Sleeping 4-5 hours for years gets old.

Use the bathroom by myself for however long I want.

Working two jobs (one full, one part time), having four kids teen to toddler, and being in grad school part time doesn't allow for much in the way of anything else.

It is looking like we may never have Grandchildren.  I have a 25 year old that has said for years, he was not going to have kids, and the other who is 21, is on the fence.  It is early, so we will see, but if DS stays with current GF, he probably won't have kids.

My Spouse and I get along, but idk if we are together 24/7.  I have always said if I am retired and he retires, I will need to go back to work.  He likes to tell me what to do and how to do it.  If he leaves the house after said instructions, I do it my way, if he is home, I just let him do it himself.

Volunteering, maybe, I will see. 

Having Friends/Time for friends in retirement is something I would like.  I also question what our living situation should be in retirement - like should we live downtown, or in a condo somewhere that would lend itself more to socializing.  I also am trying to figure out if we should go to a smaller house, but I know DH would object right now...we can revisit in 10 years or so when house is paid off and we are facing actual retirement.

DH agrees with Mr. Oped, he says he is never going to retire.  I hope he partially retires at least so we can travel a bit (assuming we save enough to make that possible).

[happyhoix]

Feb 22, 2019 11:46:32 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Feb 22, 2019 10:56:56 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Volunteer.
Enjoy hobbies.

Enjoy my spouse.
Enjoy my grandkids.
Have friends.
Spend time on my yard so it doesn't look like white trash live in our house.

Spend time doing things like repainting our house. Or doing anything other than needed repairs/maintence (like replacing a leaking water heater).

Watch tv more than one hour every couple of weeks

Read a book. Reading one book every 5 years isn't exactly great.

Sleep. Sleeping 4-5 hours for years gets old.

Use the bathroom by myself for however long I want.

Working two jobs (one full, one part time), having four kids teen to toddler, and being in grad school part time doesn't allow for much in the way of anything else.

It is looking like we may never have Grandchildren.  I have a 25 year old that has said for years, he was not going to have kids, and the other who is 21, is on the fence.  It is early, so we will see, but if DS stays with current GF, he probably won't have kids.

My Spouse and I get along, but idk if we are together 24/7.  I have always said if I am retired and he retires, I will need to go back to work.  He likes to tell me what to do and how to do it.  If he leaves the house after said instructions, I do it my way, if he is home, I just let him do it himself.

Volunteering, maybe, I will see. 

Having Friends/Time for friends in retirement is something I would like.  I also question what our living situation should be in retirement - like should we live downtown, or in a condo somewhere that would lend itself more to socializing.  I also am trying to figure out if we should go to a smaller house, but I know DH would object right now...we can revisit in 10 years or so when house is paid off and we are facing actual retirement.

DH agrees with Mr. Oped, he says he is never going to retire.  I hope he partially retires at least so we can travel a bit (assuming we save enough to make that possible).

Dh and I are about 5 years away from retirement and we're debating this right now.

Our current house has a good retirement home set up (everything necessary on one floor) except that it sits on 2 acres of grass that needs mowing, and has lots of flowerbeds that I like tending now, but probably will have trouble doing when I'm 70.   Dh wants to get rid of a yard completely and move into a condo, but that would mean moving downtown in the closest city, which is about 2x the COL of the suburban areas. If we wanted to sell our 3 bed 2.5 bath home on 2 acres and exchange it for a condo of a similar value, we'd end up with a 1 bedroom, 700 square foot condo in a 'new' (used to be the run down part of town) area. To get a 700 square foot condo in the nicer, touristy end of town, double that figure.

it's important to both Dh and I though, to be able to walk to most places, because I think it will keep us active (especially DH, who I'm afraid will vegetate in front of the TV when he stops working). And also so that, if we start having problems driving, we can still walk/take public transit to get around, which is not an option in our current rural house.

I'm leaning towards building a single level retirement house on a small yard that we can landscape with evergreens and decorative grass to not require a lot of tending/mowing (so it wouldn't be too expensive to pay to have that done). But I'd still like it to be in a suburb of our small city, one with a distinct center, so that the grocery store, pharmacy, post office etc are still walkable - and it's tough to find suburban areas like that around here. Mostly suburban sprawl without a distinct center, and often without many sidewalks. I really don't want to spend my retirement dependent on a car.  

[tskeeter]

Feb 22, 2019 9:30:50 GMT -5 mroped said:

Retirement? What’s that?
What do you do with your time when you retire?(that’s just an honest question!)

Let’s see, I ski two or three mornings a week.  Attend a seminar or two most weeks at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.  Arrange craft beer tasting tours of local breweries for folks in the neighborhood.  I’m going to Park City to ski this next week.  I’m working on getting a book written by a relative back into print.  And I’m trying to talk DW into going back to Ireland for a couple of months this fall.  Wonder what I can find to amuse myself next?

[weltschmerz]

Feb 22, 2019 5:25:26 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

I always thought with the cradle to grave policy one didn’t need to worry about saving anything.

Why would you think that?

You think the government pays for the replacement of a roof or water heater?
You think the government buys you a new car if your old one dies?
You think the government pays your property taxes?

That's  an alarmingly ignorant statement to make.

[zibazinski]

Always the “lady.”

[finnime]

Globally we're still evolving an idea of what "retirement" means. A large number of people still work, but in a different capacity with fewer hours and more flexibility. When you're not actively raising children any more you can make do with less without reducing your standard of living.

I'm interested to note how many people in their 70's I know who still work because they choose to. All of them are professionals and enjoy contributing.

That said, it looks like everyone everywhere except for the independently wealthy really need to build up savings for life beyond their 60's. In the U.S. healthcare is a daunting issue for what Medicare doesn't cover: long term care, especially.

[Gardening Grandma]

Feb 22, 2019 9:30:50 GMT -5 mroped said:

Retirement? What’s that?
What do you do with your time when you retire?(that’s just an honest question!)

I'm retired.  There aren't enough hours in the day.  I need to get off the computer and get going.  Today it's "tea" at the Geo Wash iNN  in honor of Pres' Day (with an organization I belong to).  Tonight it's a movie with DH and friends.  Tomorrow it's preparing for a class I'm teaching on Monday at the local genealogy society.  Tues I'm working with a woman preparing her DAR application.

Then I need to prepare for the 2nd class I'm teaching at the genealogy society.  I've been asked to teach a class for beginner genealogists in June and I need to start prepping for that.

Next month, DH and I are taking the travel trailer to Utah to meet some friends.  We plan to take 4-6 weeks touring around then returning.  I need to do some prep for that (navigation and finding places to stay is my job).

I've started our tax return and need to submit that.....

The Europeans I've talked to don't seem too worried about retirement (or they've already retired).  They don't have to worry about health care, nursing home care, and they receive pensions.  They also didn't go into debt to pay for their childrens' educations.