From Marketwatch:
“Generation Xers will be worse off even than the baby boomers when retirement looms unless they make inroads into retirement savings by working longer and saving more, according to a new report.”
“The study’s authors created a model for the optimal percentage of preretirement income people need, and projected what different household types would actually have, based on the Federal Reserve Board’s survey of consumer finances, and other data. The study said retirement households need to produce 73% of preretirement income to meet the standard.”
“The study projects that Generation Xers will build wealth at the same rate as earlier generations, but ‘what they don’t have is the same kind of Social Security benefits coming their way, and they are a cohort relying almost entirely on 401(k) plans rather than having any money from defined-benefit plans,’ said Alicia Munnell, co-author of the report and director of the Center for Retirement Research, in a telephone conference.”
“Still, the outlook even for older generations is not good.”
“Overall, ‘a large number of households are at risk,’ she said. ‘To avoid having a big decline in the standard of living at retirement, they’re going to have to do something. The two obvious things to do are to either work longer or save more,’ she said.
“While Gen Xers appear to be worse off, they also have a clear means for improving their outlook: Increase savings. Pushing their savings rate just 3% higher would mean that the portion of Generation Xers missing their retirement income target by 10% or more drops to 38% from 49%.”
“For the early boomer group, just 32% fall short on retirement income, down from 35% now, if they increase their savings rate by 3%. And 38% of late boomers miss income targets, down from 44% now, if that group ups their savings by 3% a year.”
The full paper can be found here:
Young professionals have the entitlement attitude.
They DESERVE to drive an expensive car
They DESERVE to live in a Center Hall Colonial
They DESERVE a high paying job
They DESERVE to have the latest electronics and/or Coach purses
They WILL be working @ age 90
If you think Gen X is bad, what about Gen Y and Gen Z??
got my welfare check today
im going to AC for the buffet and
a little gambling. at least you can still smoke in the casinos.
Ha. As if those in my generation will save. I agree with minutesfromnyc – they’ll just buy expensive cars, clothes, etc. and piss away their extra cash (if they have any at all, after throwing 50% towards housing:)
This remind me of the later days of Rome before the Roman Empire went down — society filled with arrogance and decadence.
This remind me of the later days of Rome before the Roman Empire went down — society filled with arrogance and decadence.
haha, I was thinking the same thing a few days ago….
Are we close to seeing the Generation Omega?
escalade,,,, most favored car.
finance the wheels separate from the vehicle.
along with the gold tooth
escalade, the most stolen car
the favorite of drug dealers
comes with bling bling
Chrysler 300
Escalade
Hummer H2
Mercedes C Class
and to appeal to an even lower class of people…introducing the Hummer H3
Calling recent times a replay of the Roaring 20’s seems appropriate as well..
grim
Grim,
ARM was quite prevalent and popular during 20’s.
I thought financial companies learned their lessons.
I guess history repeats itself.
people are even worse off than the estimates. taxes will be going WAY UP in the coming years (as in doubling). if you are not saving now, you are totally screwed for retirement
I am beginning to think that buying a house in NNJ isn’t such a great idea. High property taxes + high home prices = renting the way to go, right?
I am a gen x’er My sisters and brothers range from baby boomers to gen Y … Large family.. My father was the only one mowing his lawn in our neighborhood and He Drove a reliant K car until he died. I was taught that if you want something you better have the cash for it. No credit cards. Save Save Save. And that there is NO hand outs. Nothing is free and you have to work for it. I was taught that you shouldn’t waste money on a depreciating asset such as cars clothes ect. I think it really depends how you were taught financial responsibility not what generation you are from .. I know plenty off Baby boomers and older who are in there 60’s who bought the big house/car ect “the dream” and have to work into there 70’s to afford to retire or sell the big house so they aren’t living in poverty.
“renting the way to go, right”
for now, absolutely. long term, who knows. it’s possible that house prices might overcorrect on the downslope
All this self-flagalation by Gen. Xers is intriguing; few of my friends are the thoughtless materialists others seem to think characterize us. My wife and I have about six figures locked up in retirement at this point–not enough, but not nothing. We’ll nearing forty with two young kids–a drain on both our energy and the money available to waste away. Renters in JC, we are, but own some land upstate, which is almost paid off and, thus, another kind of investment. Doing modestly okay from a long-term perspective. Drive a 98 Subaru too. It’s not a bad car, and we take car of it.
how bout this little ditty
from Ever Bank.
“Standard & Poors Says The United
States Credit Rating Could Be Hurt
By Pressure On Budget From Aging
Population .”
S&P went on to say :
“Absent Fiscal Reforms,The US
Credit Rating Would Fall to A
After 2015 and BBB By 2020”
Keep Spending
Baby.
Anonymous at 9:51, you sound fine but it’s funny, because it made me think of the tremendous age differences even among Gen-Xers, and what those years can do. Gen X is such a long time frame – I have heard anything up to 20 years, but it seems that 1964-80 is a good time frame to work with.
So there you are, nearing 40, with retirement, land, etc. Now here’s my sister, 27, still technically Gen X, totally broke, with no savings, low retirement and credit card debt to beat the band (yes, she loves shoes and pocketbooks). It’s part of the reason I think “GenX” is a rough term – there’s worlds of difference between those of us on the younger end than those on the older.
anon at 9:33,
as skeptic said, rent now.
and buy a house when the price bottoms out.
My prediction? 4-5 years from now.
I am liquidating most of my assets (except my house) so that I will have enough cash to buy many properties 4-5 years from now.
Trying to figure out where to put money right now.
I am post anon 9:42.I am on the young end 29. I have 6 figures saved (in the high 2’s and not including 401K)and between my husband and I make 144K a year. We never go out. I do not shop.. I hate it. I am saving for my House in Block Island to retire.. As I said I don’t think its a generation thing .. I think it is how you were taught financial responsibility. Most people do not know the first thing about saving or investing.
The most overpriviledged, oversheltered generation which has gotten worse since 09/11 and the inflation of the credit bubble.
Most spend $$$ on Diesel Jeans, Coah purses, abercrombie. Only things that matter are those things that are material.
And many work in retail and act like they have everything in the world.
Of course, the attitude is just to rent, use credit cards & sponge off mommy & daddy in order to spend $$$ on clothes and the best car.
As bad as an addiction to crack cocaine.
I would say 90% of people in NYC fit the above.
its Mommy and Daddy’s fault if they let there gen’xer sponge off of them
I hate when today’s stay-at-home mothers complain about us working couples driving up the price of things. I try to explain that families in the 1950’s had a 900 sq ft home, one simple car, one TV, no cable service, no cell phone, cooked every meal, etc. I also can’t believe all the junk people buy their kids today. I don’t know what they are teaching them.
They think Diesel Jeans, Abercrombie, the Porche Cheyenne, and Kenneth Cole are the best investment.
Most spend easily between $2,000 – $5,000 a month just on clothes then admit they have $30,000 or more in CC debt.
Send lawyers, guns and money, the sh*t has hit the fan.
Its no different then anyother generation… Please.. Are you going to tell me that your generation was not wanting to buy the latest gadget or thing.. I can remember the excitement over color TV and a Dishwasher.The difference was that older generations saved for it. And as for credit I cannot comment.. My parents never used credit cards. ..I admit somewhere after the boomer generation discipline went out the window along with respect.. Thats is what we should be blasting younger generations about not the spending habits. Those come as a result of the lack of above.
Anonymous said…
I would say 90% of people in NYC fit the above.
11:22 AM
Not a fair comment.
I would say 90% of people [YOU SEE] in NYC fit the above.
There are tons of people busting their butts to make a living. The slackers with inherited wealth are the ones that are visible to the general public.
Previous generations didn’t need to buy $300 Jeans and live in a neighborhood based on the trendiness factor.
There were more important things besides XBOX 360 and HDTV.
Previous generations didn’t need to buy $300 Jeans and live in a neighborhood based on the trendiness factor.
There were more important things besides XBOX 360 and HDTV.
Which is why I dont have cable TV, an Ipod and drive a 12 yr old car
we are brand new money,from
manhattan and now occupy 15,000
sq.ft. home.
will have a reception for the
blog participants and answer
questions on how to work hard.
Oh come on previous generations did want to live in trendy neighborhoods..They just aren’t the same neighborhoods that are today..It may not have been X _box 360 but it could have been a TV..
Oh come on previous generations did want to live in trendy neighborhoods..They just aren’t the same neighborhoods that are today..It may not have been X _box 360 but it could have been a TV..
Please, there are many things people can get now that didnt exist years ago. Years ago you didnt have to pay for (cable) TV, there wasnt Sirius or XM radio, there wasnt video game systems, DVD’s, Computers, MP3 players, Pocket PC’s, Palm Pilots, high speed Internet services,Navigation systems just to name a few. It all adds up.
You are right,, But back then did you need a TV?. Just like now DO you need Sirius..Its all relative.. There is more stuff out there now.. But there was plenty back then that people didn’t need.But now things that were were not existent in my parents age are standard base living now washer/dryers, TV, radio..
I think what is different and even more important is increased spending on fixed expenses. I have been unsucessfully trying to find the link (on this blog or another) to a study that showed the % and amount of spending on the fixed expenses of housing, health care, and education. (It was posted in the last 3 months I think)
The study’s author found that Americans on average are spending a significantly higher % of their income on home costs, health care, and education than in years past and that these 3 expenses alone contribute more to the savings problem than all other spending.
Andy
It’s all the same..
Now = Then
iPod = Walkman
Plasma TV = VCR
XBOX 360 = Atari/Coleco
Satellite TV = Satellite TV (Only the dishes were huge)
Fancy Nikon Digital Camera = Fancy Nikon Film Camera
Expensive Laptop = Commodore 64
Hummer = Conversion Van w/ Bar
grim
Thanks Grim.. Trying to make that point don’t think I was clear..
Grim,
I thinking you are comparing 2006 to 1986, and other people were looking further back. I think the spending on excess junk has kept growing the past fifty years. Isn’t the average house size triple what it was fifty years ago, yet families are smaller?
Grim,
I was mainly comparing todays wants and needs with the wants and needs and technology available in the 1950s and 1960s
Isn’t the average house size triple what it was fifty years ago, yet families are smaller?
Which is why all the new construction you see are enormous houses…and if you look at the houses built in the 1950s, they are much smaller. Why won’t they build modest sized homes today? Because people “want want want”
“Isn’t the average house size triple what it was fifty years ago, yet families are smaller?”
Yeah, but I bet the aggregate weight is the same.
Yech!
Same philosophy though see below
This usage, also put as keep pace, appears in the phrase keeping up with the Joneses, which was coined in 1913 by cartoonist Arthur R. Momand for the title of a series in the New York Globe. It means “trying to match the lifestyle of one’s more affluent neighbors or acquaintances.” For example, Their buying a new van is just another attempt to keep up with the Joneses.
For those of you with little retirement savings, don’t worry.
The following three pronged financial strategy has always gotten me out of tough spots:
Faith, Hope and Charity!
A typical dictionary definition of hypnosis states that it is: a state that resembles sleep but that is induced by suggestion. However, anyone who has tried hypnosis (and any self respecting hypnotist) will tell you that this is a very simplistic view of the subject!
A much better description comes from the Free Online Dictionary which states that hypnosis is: an artificially induced state of consciousness, characterised by heightened suggestibility and receptivity to direction. So what does this mean and how can it be used to your advantage?
Well, the subject of hypnosis has been discussed and pondered since the late 1700s. Many explanations and theories have come and gone though science, however, has yet to supply a valid and well-established definition of how it actually happens. It’s fairly unlikely that the scientific community will arrive at a definitive explanation for hypnosis in the near future either, as the untapped resources of our ‘mostly’ uncharted mind still remain something of a mystery.
However, the general characteristics of hypnosis are well documented. It is a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, deep relaxation and heightened imaginative functioning. It’s not really like sleep at all, because the subject is alert the whole time. It is most often compared to daydreaming, or the feeling you get when you watch a movie or read a captivating book. You are fully conscious, but you tune out most of the outside world. Your focus is concentrated intensely on the mental processes you are experiencing – if movies didn’t provide such disassociation with everyday life and put a person in a very receptive state then they would not be as popular (nor would TV advertising be as effective!). Have you ever stated that a film wasn’t great because you just couldn’t ‘get into it’???
This works very simply; while daydream or watching a movie, an imaginary world becomes almost real to you because it fully engages your emotional responses. Such mental pursuits will on most occasions cause real emotional responses such as fear, sadness or happiness (have you ever cried at a sad movie, felt excited by a future event not yet taken place or shivered at the thought of your worst fear?).
It is widely accepted that these states are all forms of self-hypnosis. If you take this view you can easily see that you go into and out of mild hypnotic states on a daily basis – when driving home from work, washing the dishes, or even listening to a boring conversation. Although these situations produce a mental state that is very receptive to suggestion the most powerful time for self-change occurs in the trance state brought on by intentional relaxation and focusing exercises. This deep hypnosis is often compared to the relaxed mental state between wakefulness and sleep.
In this mental state, people feel uninhibited and relaxed and they release all worries and doubts that normally occupy their mind. A similar experience occurs while you are daydreaming or watching the TV. You become so involved in the onscreen antics