Employees of Maryland May Need a Bail Out in the Future

BeoBill · May 3, 2019

TheBert said:
Don't let other people hold your money!

Easier said than done... :innocent0

BeoBill · May 3, 2019

gprimr1 said:
As a 33 year old, I think that there needs to be a serious discussion about retirement age. Using retirement ages based on 1940s and 1950s life expectancies in 2019 is unrealistic.

There is NO mandatory retirement age. Social Security sets a "Full Retirement Age" at which you can collect your full benefit amount. But there's nothing to stop you from working until the day you die if you wanted to.

I was once 33 years old and full of p1ss and vinegar. Eventually your body will wear out and your mind will fail - nobody leaves this planet alive. The questions are 1. When do you want to retire? and 2. When can you afford to retire?

j_h_smith · May 3, 2019

BeoBill said:
There is NO mandatory retirement age. Social Security sets a "Full Retirement Age" at which you can collect your full benefit amount. But there's nothing to stop you from working until the day you die if you wanted to.

I was once 33 years old and full of p1ss and vinegar. Eventually your body will wear out and your mind will fail - nobody leaves this planet alive. The questions are 1. When do you want to retire? and 2. When can you afford to retire?

Or you see the writing on the wall and you're too old to learn to ride on the latest roller coaster. Then you retire at 55 and call it a carrier.

Proper planning...

Mr H · May 3, 2019

Wife started teaching at 36, put in 28 (got credit for 30), and is sipping coffee with the dog. She did good.

I wasn't quite that lucky, but had some solid opps, and put together a good financial plan for us.

I'll be able to retire at the end of 2020, at 58. It'll be modest, if not Spartan, but we'll be comfortable... and should outlive our money (and leave a good chunk for the grandkids).

fabsroman · May 4, 2019

TheBert said:
Don't let other people hold your money!

You know, I was just thinking about this today. Other than real estate and my actual physical possessions, my "money" is nothing but a bunch of bits in a computer in different financial institutions.

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the concept for stocks, mutual funds, etc., but they really cannot be seen or touched. All they represent is some balance on a piece of paper. It isn't like holding a gold brick or a pile of cash.

Then, all that money is being held by somebody else. Yes, I can ask for it back, but what the heck happens if one day somebody tells me it is gone. Poof!!!!!!!!! I'd be like, "Poof? POof? POOF?"

I think planning for retirement is one of the most stressful things there is. Wish I was like the grasshoppers and just did not care about a rainy day, the day I can no longer work, retirement, etc. Wish I could lead a happy go lucky type of life and leave all the worry behind.

fabsroman · May 4, 2019

gprimr1 said:
As a 33 year old, I think that there needs to be a serious discussion about retirement age. Using retirement ages based on 1940s and 1950s life expectancies in 2019 is unrealistic.

Hell, I think there needs to be a serious discussion about saving for retirement, or saving for a rainy day.

The problem that most of these governments have with their pension plans is that they make them look wonderful to the recruits. Problem comes when they have to actually fund them, and then when they have to raise taxes.

Maryland just received a $200 million windfall from the federal tax cuts ($100 million) and the recent SCOTUS case regarding the collection of sales tax ($100 million). This is $200 million a YEAR in additional revenue. I really do NOT want to hear that the state pension fund is underfunded. The state needs to take care of its liabilities first and foremost, before spending money on other things.

Granted, the General Assembly is made up of Maryland citizens. How many citizens actually save for a rainy day? How many actually look at paying off debt before buying something new and shiny? How many actually plan for retirement appropriately? I can tell you it isn't many. I see it over and over again in my profession. Once upon a time, I used to talk to clients about it over and over again, but I realized I was wasting my breath. So, I mention it once or twice early on in the relationship, and then I leave it be.

Some of my clients have been with me for 20 years, and they have not saved a penny for retirement.

Of course, if Americans in mass decided to start saving for a rainy day before buying something new and shiny, the economy might come to a screeching halt with the loss of all that consumer spending. Plus, if 2008/2009 did not teach people to save and live with as little debt as possible, I doubt much else will get the job done.

Think I just talked myself out of buying a bigger house. lol

Allen65 · May 4, 2019

fabsroman said:
Once upon a time, I used to talk to clients about it over and over again, but I realized I was wasting my breath. So, I mention it once or twice early on in the relationship, and then I leave it be.

Like a dentist telling a patient to floss.

fabsroman said:
Of course, if Americans in mass decided to start saving for a rainy day before buying something new and shiny, the economy might come to a screeching halt with the loss of all that consumer spending.

That's the sad reality we live in. Our economy is critically dependent on a debt-fueled, never-ending consumer spending binge. The inevitable result is the periodic severe crash necessary to remove noncollectable debt from creditors' books. Then the cycle repeats.

danb · May 4, 2019

fabsroman said:
Then, all that money is being held by somebody else. Yes, I can ask for it back, but what the heck happens if one day somebody tells me it is gone. Poof!!!!!!!!! I'd be like, "Poof? POof? POOF?"

Your money is not even being "held" - its electrons on a server somewhere, which resides in a data farm. And if you asked for it back, what would you actually get? paper, backed by nothing. Even bonds have been book entry (electronic) for decades. I am sure someone somewhere might still have some bearer bonds but I think those are pretty rare. If the power grid goes down like Venezuela, your money is pooof.

Even for gold, a lot of people actually hold "certificates" stored somewhere else, not actual piles of bars.

Real estate is the best way to "store" your money for the zombie apocalypse, but only if you occupy it, its arable, and you have a pile of guns and ammo to defend it. At this latitude you need roughly 3 acres per person to live off the land, or so I have read...

BeoBill · May 4, 2019

j_h_smith said:
Or you see the writing on the wall and you're too old to learn to ride on the latest roller coaster. Then you retire at 55 and call it a carrier.

Proper planning...

Precisely. But there is NO statutory requirement for you to do so; quite the opposite in fact (e.g., wrongful discharge, age discrimination, etc.).

Mr H said:
...I'll be able to retire at the end of 2020, at 58. It'll be modest, if not Spartan, but we'll be comfortable... and should outlive our money (and leave a good chunk for the grandkids).

I also retired when I chose to, and am living modestly because of good choices over the years. Like J_H said...

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

Inigoes said:
People forget there is a difference between something promised in a contract versus fulfilment of the promise.

The future is never garraunteed!

My father learned that with Bethlehem Steel, and he was one of the lucky ones that got a livable retirement income.

I had one friend who flew for Eastern. He was 6 months from retirement when the went under.

Airlines used to always have unfunded pensions plans for the pilots. No company, no pension.

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

danb said:
New England colonies for example struggled with inflation through the 1700s. Partly because of wars, partly because of bad fiscal and monetary policy

Speaking of Argentina, inflation is over 50% right now. The previous administration added about 3 million people to the state rolls who had not paid in. Unfunded pension, welfare, and entitlement benefits a re huge driver of inflation in Latin America.

Funny, New England seems to trying to do it again.

50% is NOTHING. One year, Zimbabwe had 10^23% inflation. That is a 1, followed by 23 zeros.

In their case, they switched to the US dollar. The last rounds of bills, they actually printed a 100,000,000,000 note.

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

rseymorejr said:
Government jobs really don't take into account age, just years of service. That's why they can retire in their early 50's and draw that check for 30 years. Meanwhile, before too ling, you'll have to be pushing 80 to start to draw Social Security (if anything is left of it)

Not always true.

Fed gov it is a combination of years and age. Even if you have the years, if you retire before certain ages, you take a reduction in your pension.

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

j_h_smith said:
There's talk about the laziness of the American worker, but look at the number of hours other country's workers put in. I was a liaison for my company and a Switzerland company. I found out that they each get a month off plus their vacation time. This was mandated by their government.

American workers work the longest work week (in hours) and have the least time off of any first world country.

A friend worked for a Swiss company, in Switzerland. They opened the gates and 9AM, they closed them at 5PM, and NO ONE was allowed to work outside those hours.

He was an IT type, and it drove him NUTS, as he was the type to show up at 3PM and work until 3AM.

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

BeoBill said:
I was once 33 years old and full of p1ss and vinegar. Eventually your body will wear out and your mind will fail - nobody leaves this planet alive. The questions are 1. When do you want to retire? and 2. When can you afford to retire?

THIS ^^^^^^

I felt I would work until very late in life when I was in my 30s. Now, I want to retire NOW.

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

danb said:
Even for gold, a lot of people actually hold "certificates" stored somewhere else, not actual piles of bars.

Even if you physically have gold, what is it actually worth? In a SHTF situation, can you eat it? It is only of value if someone else wants it, and at what rate.

I prefer to stockpile .22 LR. Small increments (one round) and usable in most any situation.

And if not, I can shoot it myself.

Blacksmith101 · May 5, 2019

Pinecone said:
Even if you physically have gold, what is it actually worth? In a SHTF situation, can you eat it? It is only of value if someone else wants it, and at what rate.

I prefer to stockpile .22 LR. Small increments (one round) and usable in most any situation.

And if not, I can shoot it myself.

First rule of investing is diversity, don't put all your eggs in a single basket.

Mr H · May 5, 2019

Pinecone said:
Even if you physically have gold, what is it actually worth? In a SHTF situation, can you eat it? It is only of value if someone else wants it, and at what rate.

I prefer to stockpile .22 LR. Small increments (one round) and usable in most any situation.

And if not, I can shoot it myself.

I've long wondered what would happen if we ever reached the point where brass turns to gold.

A balanced approach is always best... if's for folks to decide for themselves what that balance is.

Alan3413 · May 5, 2019

Pinecone said:
American workers work the longest work week (in hours) and have the least time off of any first world country.

A friend worked for a Swiss company, in Switzerland. They opened the gates and 9AM, they closed them at 5PM, and NO ONE was allowed to work outside those hours.

He was an IT type, and it drove him NUTS, as he was the type to show up at 3PM and work until 3AM.

Some gov agencies are similar. SSA monitors employee time closely. GS types have to apply to work overtime, and is not always approved. You can do overtime via telework, and can get approved for 2 days/week.

Of course, none of that applies to contractors.

willtill · May 5, 2019

rseymorejr said:
Government jobs really don't take into account age, just years of service. That's why they can retire in their early 50's and draw that check for 30 years. Meanwhile, before too ling, you'll have to be pushing 80 to start to draw Social Security (if anything is left of it)

This is why as soon as I hit 62 years, I'm drawing Social Security. I'm not waiting for a full benefit by delaying it.

Pinecone · May 5, 2019

Blacksmith101 said:
First rule of investing is diversity, don't put all your eggs in a single basket.

No, .22 LR is not part of my retirement plan.

But I figure, for SHTF, the best thing is something that can be used. Food or ammunition.

And with ammunition, you can GET food.

Yes, you will find people willing to trade for gold, but why?????

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