Baby Boomers Are Retiring - And It's Going to Have a Huge Impact on the Economy

[Roger830]

A quarter is this case is 3 months? I have paid ss for a few years. Is it worth it to "work" the last amount of quarters needed before 65 to get the minimum payout? If I am in good health at that time of course. I have no pension otherwise.

It should be worth it if you don't have a government pension. It also makes you eligible for medicare.

When ss started you only had to work 3 years to collect. My uncle that married to my oldest aunt retired from the post office, then worked for 3 years part time. He collected ss for over 30 years and used to laugh about receiving the benefit.

 

[geekette]

A quarter is this case is 3 months? I have paid ss for a few years. Is it worth it to "work" the last amount of quarters needed before 65 to get the minimum payout? If I am in good health at that time of course. I have no pension otherwise.

A quarter is in every case 3 months. Whether or not it is worth it to you depends on your situation. There are rules about double dipping so if your occupation does not contrib to SS you might take a peek at ramifications.

I never really thought about it, have always taken jobs that seemed interesting, and never ended up with a pension nor non-SS-contributing work. At this point, the earliest, lowest-paid years, are dropping off my SS record as they are replaced with wages I make today. Some people have 0s as salary year placeholders if they don't work the full 35 (I think it is) years. I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference, except that I feel better knowing that what I made when I was 15 is no longer relevant ; )

I'd say, go with your passion. Why toil towards a benefit you're not sure you need? One doesn't need to have a pension nor SS to have money set aside.

 

[VacationForever]

A quarter is in every case 3 months. Whether or not it is worth it to you depends on your situation. There are rules about double dipping so if your occupation does not contrib to SS you might take a peek at ramifications.

I never really thought about it, have always taken jobs that seemed interesting, and never ended up with a pension nor non-SS-contributing work. At this point, the earliest, lowest-paid years, are dropping off my SS record as they are replaced with wages I make today. Some people have 0s as salary year placeholders if they don't work the full 35 (I think it is) years. I don't think it makes a huge amount of difference, except that I feel better knowing that what I made when I was 15 is no longer relevant ; )

I'd say, go with your passion. Why toil towards a benefit you're not sure you need? One doesn't need to have a pension nor SS to have money set aside.

I believe a quarter is $1300. If you make $5200 in one month and worked only for that month, you get 4 quarters of credit for that year.

 

[VacationForever]

I only contributed 18 years into the system before we retired. My PIA is high enough that I will be drawing on my own SS as opposed to my spouse's. I have been toying with the idea of whether to go back to work full time for 2 to 3 years to bump the SS contributions up but at this point in time it is unlikely. The costs to do so makes it unlikely - we will need to get another car, by pushing us above the 15% tax bracket means capital gains are subjected to taxes. We are travelling for fun about 4 months cumulatively in a year. That will be no more cruising and limited timesharing. The 2 positives to going back to work again is getting health insurance through the employer and beefing up SS benefits.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I deal with a population of people who live off the 'government/system'.

My uncle's wife is a classic mooch.
...My uncle worked for Mobil Oil for enough years (over 10 before being disabled).
... Uncle died young before 50...I could go look up his grave or ask my 92yo aunt.
...Wife worked for many years .. way over 10 ... at a cemetery.
...Uncle, aunt, and 3 kids lived RENTED free in Grandmom's/then her sister's rental home .. and never paid anything. For 28-30+ years... including the oil to heat the house in the winter.
... Uncle's wife got his inheritance from the family estate of his parents ... move out of rent free home for a couple of years in to a 3bdr apr for just herself. Runs out of money(?) .. gets into a LOW INCOME senior building in the township she has lived forever. Pays under 30% of her Social Security income for everything. Senior building is less than 5 years old ... across the street from supermarket plus free bus service & activities.

If she is collecting on HIS earned income credits re:SS and/or his Mobil Oil pension .... she is doing GREAT. If she is ONLY collecting off her SS record, she is only paying 30% for anything connected as costs for her apt.

The costs for her HUD lodgings is still WAY less than a private 55 and older residence/community ...plus no buy in fees. Onsite home health aides, van transportation for all needs plus offsite activities.

And this aunt is NOT on my primary concern ... My other aunt ... Auntie who is 92 and lives in a 55+ apartment community with a $1250 rent PLUS everything else. And no extras like bus service, activities, apt cleaning .. .who pays separately for a person to help her for 2 hours per day ... to shop for her and pays someone to take her to doctors' appts. I am the weekend activities person ... every weekend (she is on a "go to church pickup" of other/rotating church members) ... usually 3 weekends a month. And Auntie does NOT FLY nor likes to go OVERNIGHT anywhere.

Took her to Midtown NYC once ... told me it was nice, but NOT AGAIN. Took her to Skyline Towers .. told me, not again. Took her to my sister's house for the weekend ... end up in the ER for 10 hours ... told me, NOT AGAIN. Won't FLY .. .because she had not flown in 46 years.

I really dread when I am OLD ...

 

[spirits]

I have been working part time for the last 7 years......my husband has been retired for over 25 years. One of the reasons I continued to work was the fear of outliving my money. I had a stressful job and so decided to keep on working as long as possible. Part time, with benefits, gave me peace of mind all these years. I had half the problems to go with half the paycheck but those problems were manageable. I was able to sleep at night but more importantly, I was with young people and loved their enthusiasm and energy.....and I was not their parent but their grandparent....I had lots love to give them and they took the time to keep me computer savvy (;
Anyway, many of my friends retired before me and over the years I noticed that all they do is complain. Not just complain but they seem to resent everyone else....someone has a pension, someone has benefits, someone got an inheritance. My god, I was so happy to just go back to work where the complaints were not as mean spirited. I guess that was the main reason I kept on working.
As we age....and more people retire.....well....my prediction is that society is going to get real crabby. Way more so than what I see in the media. People will be looking to cut benefits.....in health care, pension benefits, and assisted living for the elderly. Rightly or wrongly, retirees are being seen as greedy manipulators who lucked out with great jobs, benefits, and a booming economy and who want to continue living an unaffordable lifestyle while a great portion of people struggle to get by.
Anyway, I keep hearing about a coming political/financial storm.....and it is not so far fetched as I first thought.
Darn....Tuggers...I just retired this June....and I am getting crabby......Time to look for a job.

 

[WinniWoman]

I have a tax client with $100k pension from a university system, she did nothing but complain about not getting SS. I tried to explain she didn't pay in during her working career but she kept on claiming poverty...


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OMG. What I wouldn't do to have a pension of $100,000 per year! I would be retired now instead of having to try to slug it out until I am 65 or 66. Which the way I am feeling lately I don't think I will make it. I am at a point where I really feel I am past the working stage and should be moving on to the next phase of life but am stuck. Depressing.

That client of yours is one lucky woman!

 

[WinniWoman]

I have been working part time for the last 7 years......my husband has been retired for over 25 years. One of the reasons I continued to work was the fear of outliving my money. I had a stressful job and so decided to keep on working as long as possible. Part time, with benefits, gave me peace of mind all these years. I had half the problems to go with half the paycheck but those problems were manageable. I was able to sleep at night but more importantly, I was with young people and loved their enthusiasm and energy.....and I was not their parent but their grandparent....I had lots love to give them and they took the time to keep me computer savvy (;
Anyway, many of my friends retired before me and over the years I noticed that all they do is complain. Not just complain but they seem to resent everyone else....someone has a pension, someone has benefits, someone got an inheritance. My god, I was so happy to just go back to work where the complaints were not as mean spirited. I guess that was the main reason I kept on working.
As we age....and more people retire.....well....my prediction is that society is going to get real crabby. Way more so than what I see in the media. People will be looking to cut benefits.....in health care, pension benefits, and assisted living for the elderly. Rightly or wrongly, retirees are being seen as greedy manipulators who lucked out with great jobs, benefits, and a booming economy and who want to continue living an unaffordable lifestyle while a great portion of people struggle to get by.
Anyway, I keep hearing about a coming political/financial storm.....and it is not so far fetched as I first thought.
Darn....Tuggers...I just retired this June....and I am getting crabby......Time to look for a job.

I get it,, but I work at a place with mostly all young people and I honestly feel lost socially there. They are all very nice, but there is no one to relate to. They have relationships with each other outside of work and so on.

A lot of our friends are starting to retire because they all have pensions, but we don't, so we are out of that loop as well.

We keep going but honestly it is getting tough with commuting and the very long days. And then winter is just around the corner....

 

[WinniWoman]

I have been working part time for the last 7 years......my husband has been retired for over 25 years. One of the reasons I continued to work was the fear of outliving my money. I had a stressful job and so decided to keep on working as long as possible. Part time, with benefits, gave me peace of mind all these years. I had half the problems to go with half the paycheck but those problems were manageable. I was able to sleep at night but more importantly, I was with young people and loved their enthusiasm and energy.....and I was not their parent but their grandparent....I had lots love to give them and they took the time to keep me computer savvy (;
Anyway, many of my friends retired before me and over the years I noticed that all they do is complain. Not just complain but they seem to resent everyone else....someone has a pension, someone has benefits, someone got an inheritance. My god, I was so happy to just go back to work where the complaints were not as mean spirited. I guess that was the main reason I kept on working.
As we age....and more people retire.....well....my prediction is that society is going to get real crabby. Way more so than what I see in the media. People will be looking to cut benefits.....in health care, pension benefits, and assisted living for the elderly. Rightly or wrongly, retirees are being seen as greedy manipulators who lucked out with great jobs, benefits, and a booming economy and who want to continue living an unaffordable lifestyle while a great portion of people struggle to get by.
Anyway, I keep hearing about a coming political/financial storm.....and it is not so far fetched as I first thought.
Darn....Tuggers...I just retired this June....and I am getting crabby......Time to look for a job.

I get it,, but I work at a place with mostly all young people and I honestly feel lost socially there. They are all very nice, but there is no one to relate to. They have relationships with each other outside of work and so on.

A lot of our friends are starting to retire because they all have pensions, but we don't, so we are out of that loop as well.

We keep going but honestly it is getting tough with commuting and the very long days. And then winter is just around the corner....

 

[spirits]

Yes, I was one of the oldest ones at my job. Some days I felt ancient.....I loved my secretary though and we really got along. I think the secret is to find one or two younger coworkers and get to know and support them emotionally. I loved having their kids come in (very rarely) and always had a treat or two for them....

When I first started working my closest friends came from the job. We would party, have weddings, had our kids at the same age....we are still in touch but our lives have gone in different directions so we do not socialize anymore.

About 10 years ago, I felt like you....I was an outsider....but I found that my friends were from outside work and I just decided to be friendly to everyone. It worked for me....good luck to you.

 

[isisdave]

A quarter is this case is 3 months? I have paid ss for a few years. Is it worth it to "work" the last amount of quarters needed before 65 to get the minimum payout? If I am in good health at that time of course. I have no pension otherwise.

Well, yes, generally. If you don't, do you have some other source of retirement income?

Yes, a quarter is a three-month period, January-March, etc. So you don't need ten full years, you only need $1260 (this number increases annually a little) in each of any 40 quarters where you worked in a job covered by SS. For instance, teachers might tutor or work as test proctors, and so get a little SS-covered income if they work in a state (like California) with a non-SS private pension system.

What about health insurance? Generally, you or your spouse have to be getting (or be eligible for) SS benefits in order to get Medicare at 65.

We're making some assumptions here, like that you're a US citizen or permanent resident.

 

[isisdave]

I believe a quarter is $1300. If you make $5200 in one month and worked only for that month, you get 4 quarters of credit for that year.

You're right! https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10072.pdf - $1260 was for 2016, for 2017 it's $1300.

I wonder when the "quarters" concept changed to "credits" -- it's been a very long time since I had to think about this. There are still sites on the web I found citing the quarter concept.

 

[WinniWoman]

Yes, I was one of the oldest ones at my job. Some days I felt ancient.....I loved my secretary though and we really got along. I think the secret is to find one or two younger coworkers and get to know and support them emotionally. I loved having their kids come in (very rarely) and always had a treat or two for them....

When I first started working my closest friends came from the job. We would party, have weddings, had our kids at the same age....we are still in touch but our lives have gone in different directions so we do not socialize anymore.

About 10 years ago, I felt like you....I was an outsider....but I found that my friends were from outside work and I just decided to be friendly to everyone. It worked for me....good luck to you.

I am very friendly with everyone and generally liked, but still, not the same. Not to mention that these younger people end up quitting and move on to bigger or better things. It also gets to the point that you can't bear another baby shower.

My husband and I also have little energy and time after work. Get up at 4am and get home after 5pm. Then the weekend comes and we have chores and things to do and catch up on and it flies by. The result is no time or opportunity to make friends. Hubby has belonged to a sportsmans' club for many years. Tries to go a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon if he can. Some acquaintances there have died. Others- retired and moved away. Sigh......

 

[puppymommo]

How many ex spouses can one workers SS be collected off anyone know?

It is my understanding that there is no limit to the number of ex-spouses. However, if the ex-spouse worked, their own benefit must be less than 50% of the worker's benefit. A good deal if you were married to a sugar daddy or momma.

 

[puppymommo]

A quarter is this case is 3 months? I have paid ss for a few years. Is it worth it to "work" the last amount of quarters needed before 65 to get the minimum payout? If I am in good health at that time of course. I have no pension otherwise.

That depends. If you have a spouse or ex-spouse who paid into Social Security, you would be entitled to half of their benefit, which should be more than the minimum benefit. Just my understanding but I went to a SS presentation yesterday. Better to check with SS directly.

 

[puppymommo]

Yesterday I went to a presentation by a Social Security representative. He said that there was enough money in the fund to pay full benefits until 2034 (I think that is right). After that, benefits might have to be reduced to 79%. That got me to thinking; if that is the case perhaps it is better for me to retire earlier and get a lower benefit while I can in case the whole thing goes belly up. I was planning to retire at my FRA of 66 years 4 months.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Yesterday I went to a presentation by a Social Security representative. He said that there was enough money in the fund to pay full benefits until 2034 (I think that is right). After that, benefits might have to be reduced to 79%. That got me to thinking; if that is the case perhaps it is better for me to retire earlier and get a lower benefit while I can in case the whole thing goes belly up. I was planning to retire at my FRA of 66 years 4 months.

I think it would be political suicide for any politician not to take some kind of action to ensure SS payments continue to the current retires. Just my 2 cents

 

[WalnutBaron]

I think it would be political suicide for any politician not to take some kind of action to ensure SS payments continue to the current retires. Just my 2 cents

Unlike other government programs, Social Security is one where most recipients can point to exactly how much they have paid into the system and, therefore, have an expectation of how much they should be able to extract from the program. The problem is that over time, it has become a huge social program with beneficiaries who have not paid into it or who have paid minimally and receive long-term benefits.

As I shared in earlier posts on this thread, the Social Security system is an actuarial disaster--too many retirees either in the system or who will enter the system in the next ten years who are living much longer and who are supported by far too few wage-earners who are paying into the system.

At some point, Congress is going to have to muster up enough political backbone to address the issue--and the answers will not be popular: increasing the retirement age, perhaps also linking it to life expectancy; increasing the maximum wage from which SS taxes can be drawn, or perhaps removing the wage cap altogether; removing non-contributing recipients from the rolls; and making the wealthiest Americans ineligible to receive benefits. As is always the case with Congress, however, no action is likely until it becomes a full-blown crisis, which is about 7 or 8 years away.

 

[elaine]

When I first started working my closest friends came from the job. We would party, have weddings, had our kids at the same age....we are still in touch but our lives have gone in different directions so we do not socialize anymore.
This is me! I just realized the other day that I am 20+ years older than many in our working group--that I am not their peer, but more like their Mom. They have a young professionals bagel meeting every week--that I am not invited to. They're all getting married and my kids going to college. I have a few friends there still and everyone is nice, but it's not the same. Maybe it's like that for most?

 

[VacationForever]

When I first started working my closest friends came from the job. We would party, have weddings, had our kids at the same age....we are still in touch but our lives have gone in different directions so we do not socialize anymore.
This is me! I just realized the other day that I am 20+ years older than many in our working group--that I am not their peer, but more like their Mom. They have a young professionals bagel meeting every week--that I am not invited to. They're all getting married and my kids going to college. I have a few friends there still and everyone is nice, but it's not the same. Maybe it's like that for most?

For many years I had always been the youngest in the division and the youngest manager amongst my peers. That changed in my last 5 to 10 years with the company when I noticed that I was not the youngest amongst my peers anymore but still, more than half the people that I managed were older than me. We then went off to start our own business and I stopped noticing age anymore. I am glad we can afford to leave the workforce even though it is more than 10 years before Medicare and full SS age. We are fairly private people so socializing was never our thing. We enjoy spending time with a couple of close friends and neighbors so we really don't think about the age difference between us and those that we hang out with.

 

[isisdave]

I agree with WalnutBaron, but there's more. Everything is connected. Legal immigration numbers are not very big, and if illegal immigration is reduced, and especially if any significant number already here are removed, there is going to be a sharp shortage of labor. Who will change our diapers (and I am not kidding)?Automation and robotics may have similar effects. It's all fine to talk about raising the retirement age, but anyone who's tried to get a job after 60 knows how easy that is, even when qualified and flexible.

There needs to be some new ideas about retirement, seniors, and life beyond full-time employment. As a retired person who still hasn't seen enough of the world, I want to travel while I can. I'd be interested in working -- but not full days and not full years, and preferably from home or a finca in Costa Rica. Also, I don't need the salary I used to get -- I'd do it for a lot less, just to keep my brain in gear. Someone needs to organize and harness this resource. Some turn to volunteer work, but it has its own limitations.

 

[vacationhopeful]

I believe changes can be handled.

Examples:
Mow your own grass.
Clean your own house.
Eat at home more than 20% of the time...eating out should be special occasions, not the norm.
Expect/demand your kids to do chores and/or earn income for their needs.
Instead of warehousing your (elderly) relatives, include them within your family.
"I want" does not translate into "I need".

If your household can NOT care for all that you have ... either downsize or spend MORE time & money to care for YOUR POSSESSIONS. What is the old say, "who owns who ... you or your possessions?".

And if you think you are an island and shouldn't have to put up with family, friends and neighbors, you better expect to spend MORE money to live on that "island".

 

[vacationhopeful]

Yes, there are volunteer organizations and groups for useful and older people. Meals on Wheels, senior centers for lunches, hospitals, libraries, VOA, Habit for Humanity ... get on the web and look; ask at ANY churches; walk around your block or down the street.

Offer to just HELP a neighbor, your older friend(s) or drop in to visit an isolated relative .. before lunch to take them out (and YOU pay. I find if I have a gift card to pay for the meal, most guests accept w/o trying to give money towards the meal. So buy the GC beforehand).

 

[Tia]

This is something that could easily be changed imho , only one ex-spouse supported per SS worker.

It is my understanding that there is no limit to the number of ex-spouses. However, if the ex-spouse worked, their own benefit must be less than 50% of the worker's benefit. A good deal if you were married to a sugar daddy or momma.

 

[geekette]

This is something that could easily be changed imho , only one ex-spouse supported per SS worker.

Ending this screws the ex-wife who may have raised the kids instead of having a career. Which ex collects?